Markert & Co. v. Jefferson
Markert & Co. v. Jefferson
Opinion of the Court
In November, 1900, W. F. Markert & Company, a partnership composed of W. F. Markert and P. H. Willis, obtained an injunction against E. J. Jefferson, restraining him “ from entering into or engaging in the business of selling, handling, .or packing meats in any of its various forms in the city of Cordele.” Upon review, the ruling of the judge, granting the injunction, was affirmed by this court. Jefferson v. Markert & Co., 112 Ga. 498. In November, 1904, W. F. Markert & Company presented to the judge of the superior court, who had granted the injunction, an application that Jefferson be adjudged to be in contempt for violating the injunction. Upon the hearing of this application, the judge passed the following order; “After a careful consideration of the pleadings and testimony in this case, I am of opinion that the acts and conduct of Jefferson, as disclosed by the answer and testimony, would be a breach of the covenants in the contract from the violation of which he had been enjoined, and therefore would place him in contempt of court, except for the fact that it appears from the pleadings and testimony that the firm of W. F. Markert & Company had dissolved by the withdrawal of P. H. Willis from said firm. Under the contract neither Markert nor Willis had any separate, distinct, nor independent right. Jefferson did not contract with Markert, nor did he contract with Willis, but he contracted with those two persons only when associated together as a mercantile firm. The enforcement of covenants like the one now under consideration is not favored • by the law, or by public policy, and therefore such covenants will be strictly construed. The firm contracted with by Jefferson no longer exists, and W. F. Markert as an individual nor W. F. Markert under the. firm name of W. F. Markert & Company can not require the performance by Jefferson of said cov
It is well settled that the good will of a trade or business of a partnership and the beneficial interests it has under an agreement by another not to engage in a like business in the same community may be assigned by a retiring partner to the one remaining in the business. Swanson v. Kirby, 98 Ga. 586, and cases cited. Therefore when Willis retired from the partnership and sold and transferred all of his interests therein, including the good will of the business, to Markert, the latter became entitled to all of the benefits of the contract which Jefferson had made with the firm, and the mere dissolution of the partnership did not release Jefferson from the obligations of his covenant with it. In Guerand v. Dandelet, 32 Md. 561, the facts were, that Guerand leased a dyeing and scouring establishment, in the city of Baltimore, for a term of years, to Feuillan & Dandelet, partners, and at the same time sold them the good will Of the business, and covenanted
Reversed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.