Brown v. Miller
Brown v. Miller
Opinion of the Court
If it be admitted that Miller, St. Clair and Boyles were partners in the firm of D. D. Miller & Co., under their articles of agreement, it does not follow that the plaintiffs in error were entitled to the relief asked in their bill. St. Clair retired from the firm about the 1st of June, and Boyles about the 1st of July, leaving D. D. Miller sole member of the firm and sole owner of the partnership property. The retirement of St. Clair and Boyles from the firm, if one existed, appears to have occurred in the ordinary course of business, and in pursuance of no fraudulent purpose. Ordinary firm creditors have no lien on firm property that prevents its transfer in good faith. Agreements between parties, converting the partnership property into the separate property of one or more of its members, or vice versa, unless fraudulent, are binding on all ordinary creditors, whether creditors of the
This is a sufficient statement under the decisions of New York construing a similar statute. Lanning v. Carpenter, 20 N. Y. 447; Freligh v. Brink, 22 N. Y. 419; Neusbaum v. Keim, 24 N. Y. 325; Frost v. Koon, 30 N. Y. 428. Under a similar statute, in California, it is held “that when the statute is not strictly pursued it is prima facie evidence of fraud, and this because, where a party fails to make all the disclosures required by the act, the presumption is that he has something to conceal. But this presumptive evidence, like all presumptions, can be rebutted. It merely throws upon the plaintiff the burden of proving that his judgment was fair, and not fraudulent. ” Richards v. McMillan, 6 Cal. 419, and Cordier v. Schloss, 18 Cal. 576. Should we adopt the rule of these decisions it would not avail plaintiffs in error. We think with the court below that the strong preponderance of the evidence, is in favor of the bona fides of the transactions between Sours and Miller upon which the confession of judgment is based. The decree of the court below is affirmed.
Affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.