Mason v. Clapham
Mason v. Clapham
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the Court:
There was no error in the direction of the verdict. Clapham was a dormant partner of Halstead, and as such, liable as other partners are for transactions within the scope of the partnership. The business of the partnership was confined to transactions on the Washington Stock Exchange in which the partnership had a certificate of membership held in the name of Halstead. All transactions on that exchange are in cash; all purchases and sales being out and out for cash.
In addition to this special business of the partnership, Hal-stead transacted other business as a broker on the New York
A secret partner is liable, not because credit is supposed to have been given to the partnership by reason of his connection with it, but because he is one of the contracting parties and is benefited by the contract. In order to charge him with the debts of the firm of which he is a dormant member, it is necessary to show that such debts were contracted in the name and business which was within the scope of the partnership, or that he had an interest in the transaction or the profits. Re Munn, 3 Biss. 442, 446, Fed. Cas. No. 9,925; Pitts v. Waugh, 4 Mass. 424, 426; Livingston v. Roosevelt, 4 Johns. 251, 4 Am. Dec. 273.
It is clear that this transaction was not included in the partnership agreement, but was a separate transaction of Halstead, in which he alone was interested. Clapham received no part, of .the profits. See Howell v. Commercial Nat. Bank, 40 App. D. C. 370; Wilson v. Edmonds, 130 U. S. 472, 32 L. ed. 1025, 9 Sup. Ct. Rep. 563. There was no evidence to show that the .proceeds of the sale of the stock were converted by Halstead.
Plaintiff had a running account with Halstead, to whom he was indebted, and by his direction the stock sale was credited to him on. this account.
The judgment is affirmed, with costs. Affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- MASON v. CLAPHAM
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Partnership; Dormant Partner; Brokers. 1. A secret partner is liable, not because credit is supposed to have been given to the partnership by reason by his connection with it, but because he is one . of the contracting parties and is benefited by the contract; and in order to charge him with the debts of the firm of which he is a dormant member, it is necessary to show that such debts were contracted in the name and business which was within the scope of the partnership, or that he had an interest in the transaction or the profits. 2. A dormant partner of a brokerage firm operating solely on a local exchange which deals only in outright purchases and sales for cash, is not liable to a third person who did not know of his connection with the firm, for the proceeds of a marginal transaction between the third person and the active partner, where the latter customarily carried on marginal transactions and dealt on another exchange, and the dormant partner received no profit from such transactions including the one in question. (Citing Howell v. Commercial Nat. Bank, 40 App. D. C. 370.)