Sarris v. Coules
Sarris v. Coules
Opinion of the Court
This is a suit in equity between partners for the appointment of a receiver and for an accounting. The evidence is not reported. The master heard the parties and made a report to which the plaintiff filed two objections; the trial judge overruled the first and sustained the second. He found for the plaintiff in the sum of $940.75 with interest from October 16, 1926, to January 1, 1928, amounting to $61.20. A final decree for $940.75 with interest to April 6, 1928, was entered in his favor, with costs in the sum of $22.25. From that decree the plaintiff appealed.
The master’s findings, so far as material, shortly stated are as follows: All the defendants, except Papagelis, some time before December 1, 1921, entered into a partnership under the firm name of “Excellent Lunch” for the purpose of carrying on the lunch business. They took a lease of a store at No. 30 Dock Square, Boston, for the conduct of the business, and shortly thereafter the defendant Papagelis became a partner. The lease was for a term of fifteen years, expiring September 30, 1936. It contained a provision that it could be terminated by the lessor at his election if, among other things, the premises in whole or in part were taken by eminent domain for highway or other purposes. The original
The trial judge overruled the first exception, which was to the master’s finding that the defendants made no attempt to conceal from the plaintiff any information as to the contents of the earlier agreement between the parties, and had no intention to defraud the plaintiff. There was no error of law in overruling this exception. In the absence of a report of the evidence we cannot say that the master’s finding was not fully justified.
The second exception was rightly sustained, as it does not appear that the defendants were entitled to receive interest on the deferred payment of $3,000 which the plaintiff was to pay out of the profits of the business.
The judge found and ruled that the plaintiff was entitled to have the $8,250, the amount received as damages to the leasehold at Dock Square, included in determining the amount due the plaintiff. When the latter withdrew from the partnership the Dock Square lease had been terminated and the restaurant at that location closed. In other words, the premises having been taken by eminent domain before the plaintiff had retired as a partner, the provision in the earlier agreement, that upon the withdrawal of a partner from the firm the value of the leases was not to be considered in determining the value of the retiring partner’s interest, is not applicable, and the amount received as damages for
As to the value of the Huntington Avenue lease, the judge found and ruled that the plaintiff was not entitled to have that considered in the accounting. We are of opinion that the plaintiff is precluded from any participation in the value of that lease by reason of the express terms of the earlier agreement between the five partners, and under which the rights of the plaintiff are expressly limited. The plaintiff contends that the partnership came to an end upon the termination of the Dock Square lease when the premises were taken by eminent domain. He bases this contention upon the finding of the master in his supplemental report thatwhat he meant by the statement in his original report, “that the term of the partnership should continue for the duration of the lease on the Dock Square location,” was that the defendants orally agreed to remain partners while the lease was in legal force and effect, and that this might be until September 30,1936, or it might end at any time upon the legal termination of the lease. The master expressly states that “this finding relates wholly to the original oral agreement between the five defendants.” That oral agreement, as previously stated, was followed by the written agreement of the defendants dated December 1, 1921. It is plain that the plaintiff remained a partner after the store was closed in Dock Square and worked in the Huntington Avenue restaurant until October 16,1926, when he withdrew from the firm and notified the defendants that he wanted what was due him from the partnership. In view of the facts reported by the master, the exclusion by the trial judge of the value of the Huntington Avenue lease was warranted.
The decree gives the plaintiff all to which he is entitled.
Decree affirmed with costs.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Charles Sarris v. John Coules & others
- Status
- Published