Groth v. Kersting
Groth v. Kersting
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the court.
The decision of this case requires the settlement of no
In January, 1889, Kersting & Wilmsmeier were running a brick yard for the manufacture of bricks in North Denver. Groth & Becker were at that time contractors prosecuting their business in Denver and its vicinity. Considerable dealings had been had for some little time between the two firms, and the propriety of a union of their interests and business seems to have occurred to the parties. As a result, Kersting & Wilmsmeier had several interviews with Groth, looking to an extension of the business, his entry into the firm, and the furnishing of whatever brick Groth & Becker might require in putting up the buildings for which they might subsequently contract. The briekmakers ultimately procured a lease on some ground on East Capitol Hill, on which they could make fifty or seventy-five thousand bricks per day, which was nearly double the extent of the capacity of the North Denver yard. The terms of the copartnership will be subsequently stated. Before work was begun, Kersting & Company removed to the new yard’all of the tools, machinery and appliances for the manufacture of brick which they owned, together with the horses and wagons and whatever they had adapted to the business. When the season opened for making brick in 1889, Kersting & Company made large quantities of brick, and delivered what was known to the trade as “ salmon,” “ red,” and “ hard,” and “ stock ” brick to Groth & Becker, who used them in the various contracts which they were executing. The business continued during 1889 and to about the middle of 1890, when the parties disagreed, were unable to come to terms as to a settlement of the business, and shortly afterwards started this litigation to wind up the affairs of the concern. It was originally commenced as one suit, and the plaintiffs thereby sought to recover a little upwards of eleven thousand dollars, as money due from Groth & Becker to Kersting & Company, and resulting from the partnership transactions. The proceeding was attacked as being a union
Manifestly questions of this sort are never of the character and gravity to justify a court in setting aside a judgment unless force be given to the objections by an unanswerable ar
As before stated, the whole case then turns upon the solution of the main inquiry — what was the agreement of copartnership, and was anything due from Groth & Becker to Kersting & Company for bricks manufactured and sold to them ? We were under no obligations to examine the record with respect to this proposition. The case was tried on the testimony of witnesses examined orally before the referee, and was decided upon that evidence, and on the supporting testimony furnished by books of account, tickets, bills and various other memoranda gathered from different sources, and tending to support the plaintiffs’ claim. Under these .circumstances, the finding of the referee upon the questions of fact is entirely conclusive, and we are not required on this appeal to either examine or consider the evidence. Kimball et al. v. Lyons, 19 Colo. 266.
■ This recent declaration of the Supreme Court of the state is simply in line with a long series of adjudications by the courts on this proposition. Notwithstanding this fact, and in order to determine whether or not we were called upon to reverse the case because of any of the hundred and twenty errors assigned with reference to the admission of testimony, we read not only the abstract but the bill of exceptions so far as it related to this main issue, to wit: the partnership and its terms. On the ■ conclusion of this examination, we were thoroughly satisfied that the referee did not err in his conclusions respecting the agreement, and that his finding was fully justified by the testimony. We did not examine the entire record to ascertain whether in all respects and ex- , actly the account as stated was correct; but since we found the referee evidently right on the main proposition, we left his conclusions to stand as we had the right to do, under the
It is contended that a legal error resulted from the suing out of an attachment by Kersting & Wilmsmeier in the action which they brought against Groth & Becker to recover the sum due, because Groth was a common member of both firms. We are not called upon to decide what the legal rights of two firms having a common member may be, or what remedies may be resorted to for their enforcement. The motion to dissolve the attachment was overruled without objection, nor was any exception taken to the order made respecting it.. Under these circumstances, the matter is not properly before us for consideration and may be wholly disregarded. Some complaint is made by counsel of the action taken by the district court on the incoming of the report of the referee restricting his liberty respecting the argument on the exceptions filed to the report. The court undoubtedly declined to allow counsel all the time that he deemed'necessary for the argument; but we do not understand that the action of trial courts in matters of this description is the subject-matter of review. It certainly is not, unless there has very evidently and plainly been an abuse of the exercise of that discretion which nisi prius courts possess with reference to the trial of cases. We cannot perceive on an examination of the proceedings below that there was any such abuse of discretion on the part of the court, as would either call for or necessitate any interference on our part, or even the expression of a criticism respecting it. The only other matter which need be referred to at all is the contention respecting the interest which Groth had in the new firm of Kersting & Company.
The finding of the referee was correct, be committed no legal error which warrants us to set aside the judgment, and it will accordingly be affirmed.
Affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.