Campbell v. Pence
Campbell v. Pence
Opinion of the Court
The averments in the complaint in this action
The defendant answered in two paragraphs; the first is a general denial, and the second is substantially as follows: That at the Api'il election in 188-, the said Elijah Walden, mentioned in plaintiff’s complaint, then in full life but now deceased, was elected township trustee for Anderson township, in Madison county, in the State of Indiana; that said Walden then and there duly qualified as such trustee by giving bond, taking the oath of office, and entering upon the discharge of his duties as such trustee, and continued to act as such until his term of office expired; that the defendant herein was duly elected on the first Monday in April, 188-, as the successor to the said Walden ; that he duly and legally qualified as such township trustee for said Anderson township as aforesaid, and entered upon the discharge of his duties as the successor in office of said Walden ; that afterwards the said defendant received from the said-Walden, as his predecessor in office, the said sums of money mentioned in the plaintiff’s complaint as moneys belonging to and due Anderson township, and remaining in the hands of said Walden ; that he received the same as the trustee of said township, and in no other capacity whatever.
To the second paragraph of answer plaintiff filed a de
It is contended by appellant that this paragraph of answer shows the money to have been received by appellant as trustee of Anderson township from his predecessor in office, as the money due the township, and that he received the same as trustee of said township, and in no other capacity ; that the plaintiff’s cause of action, if he has any, is against Anderson township, and not against appellant as an individual.
We can not agree with the theory of the counsel. It was the duty of appellant to collect of his predecessor the amount due the township, and, if need be, to bring suit upon his bond, and when collected, the technical, legal title to the money would be in the appellant.
It has been repeatedly held by this court that a township trustee is more than a mere bailee of the money which comes into his hands by virtue of his office; that he is a debtor to the State, for the use of those directly interested. Rowley v. Fair, 104 Ind. 189 ; Linville v. Leininger, 72 Ind. 491.
The complaint alleges that the money paid by Walden to appellant was the individual money of appellee, out of which Walden had no right to pay the debt due from him to the township; that appellant received the money knowing at the time he received the same that it was appellee’s money, and Walden had no right to pay it to him; that the appellant wrongfully and unlawfully received and converted the same to his own use. It is not a good defence to the complaint to allege that appellant received the money from Walden in discharge of his indebtedness to the township, and that he received the same as trustee for the township, and in no other capacity, without controverting the facts alleged in the complaint, that the money he received was the individual money of appellee, and Walden had no interest in it, or right to pay it out in discharge of his individual indebtedness, and that appellant had full knowledge of such facts at the time he so re
The only remaining error assigned and argued is the overruling of the appellant’s motion for a new trial. It is contended by counsel for appellant that the evidence does not support the verdict. This requires the court to again say that this court will not weigh the evidence; that where there is evidence tending to support the verdict this court will not interfere and reverse the judgment, although it may seem that the evidence preponderates against the verdict. The weight of the evidence is wholly a matter for the lower court.
The difficulty in this case is that the counsel for appellant had one theory and counsel for appellee another, and the jury found the theory of the appellee to be correct. Appellant contends that appellee and Walden had been in partnership for years, and during all that time Walden was township trustee, and that they used the township funds in the business, and repeatedly cheeked from the firm account kept in the name of appellee to payback township funds; that appellant was the bookkeeper of the firm, and, knowing of the custom of the firm to use trust funds in the business, and to check from the account kept in the name of appellee to repay
It is alleged in the complaint, and there is evidence tending to support the allegation, that the appellee furnished all the capital in the business, and that it was expressly agreed between appellee and Walden that the original amount put in the business, and the amount received in the course of the business, should all belong to and be the property of the appellee, and that the said Walden should receive as compensation for his services the one-half of the net profits. There can be no doubt but such a contract was valid and binding between appellee and Walden, and Walden could have acquired no title to any part of the funds except the one-half of the profits, if there were any profits. That being time, it would also be binding upon any person who had full knowledge of such agreement between appellee and Walden. If the money belonged to appellee, and appellant knew it, he could have acquired no interest or title to the money by its being paid to him by a person who he knew at the time had no right to pay it to him. Bartlett v. Jones, 49 Am. Dec. 606 ; Parsons Partnership (3d ed.), p. 48 ; Story
The complaint shows that Walden is dead, and that dispenses with the necessity of making him a party, even if it would be necessary to make him a party if living; the complaint shows the action to be brought by the survivor. In the case of Bromley v. Elliot, 38 N. H. 287 (75 Am. Dec. 182), the court says: “If one person advances funds, and another furnishes his personal services and skill in carrying on a trade, and is to share in the profits, this constitutes a valid partnership; neither is it essential to a partnership that it be confined to commercial business. It may exist between attorneys, conveyancers, mechanics, owners of a line of stage coaches, artisans, or farmers, as well as between merchants. It may as well exist between factors and brokers, or agents, whose sole employment relates to the property and business of £hird persons, as among those who jointly own the property in which they deal. There can be no valid reason why, in such case, the ownership of the goods in which a partnership deals, should not belong to one of the partners exclusively, just as well as it might to a stranger, without in any way affecting the validity of the partnership. The essence of the contract is that they should be jointly concerned in profits and loss, or in profits only, in some honest and lawful business — the relation of partners being established by the fact that they share the profits between them. They are bound as partners to third persons, by all agreements within the apparent scope of the business in which they are engaged, unless the limitations of their contracts are known to those with whom they deal, or are such as from the facts known to them, they are bound to inquire.” This authority supports the doctrine that all the property with which the partners deal may be owned by one partner, and that persons having knowledge of the terms of the partnership and ownership of the property would be bound by the terms of the partnership.
There is no error in the record for which the judgment should be reversed.
Judgment affirmed, with costs.
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