Magilton v. Stevenson
Magilton v. Stevenson
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
The first contention of the appellant is that the decree in this case should not have been entered, ás the partnership affairs had not been settled and the plaintiff’s loss ascertained. The partnership was formed for the single purpose of constructing waterworks in Mayfield, Ky. The only contribution of capital was that made by the plaintiff. The land on which the works were to have been constructed had been transferred and the, ■enterprise abandoned, and the business was a total failure. The receiver was unable to obtain a bid for the few articles of personal property found on the premises, and nothing of value •came into his possession. The report of the learned master that the remaining property of the partnership was “ practically worthless,” as explained by the testimony and other parts of his report, is in effect a finding that they were worthless. There were no assets, no accounts to settle, and nothing remained but to adjust the equities between the parties.
The partnership agreement provides that “the profits and losses are to be shared equally by the partners, each being entitled to one fourth of the profits and to be liable for one fourth of the losses; provided however that the said Magilton shall in no event be put to a loss more than $1,250, and the balance shall be made up, and paid to him in case of greater loss, by the other partners.” The master held that the liability of the defendants to pay the loss of the plaintiff in excess of $1,250 was a joint and several liability. It is conceded that the finding of the master on this point would be correct if the parties •stood in the relation of strangers, but it is contended that in view of their partnership relation the proviso read in connection with the contract imposes a liability on each of the remaining partners to bear only one third of the plaintiff’s loss in excess of $1,250. The plaintiff furnished the whole cash capital, and the twofold purpose of the proviso was to fix a limit beyond which his loss should not extend, and to secure the repayment by the other partners of the balance of his contribution to the common property. This was done by providing that the balance should be paid to him by them. This is the plain meaning of the words used. In the preceding clause there is a distinct
Tbe decree is affirmed at tbe cost of tbe appellant.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Albert L. Magilton v. Harry W. Stevenson, (Appellant), Charles H. Fullaway and Thomas S. Middleton
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Partnership — Equity—Bill for dissolution of partnership and for an. account. A partnership between plaintiff and defendants was formed for the single purpose of constructing waterworks. The only contribution of capital was that of $5,000 made by the plaintiff. The articles provided that “ The profits and losses are to be shared equally by the partners, each being entitled to one-fourth of the profits and to be liable to one-fourth of the losses : Provided, however, that the said Magilton (plaintiff) shall in no event be put to a loss of more than $1,250, and that the balance shall be made up and paid to him in case of greater loss, by the other-partners.” After the land on which the works were to have been constructed had been transferred, the enterprise abandoned, and the business become a total failure, plaintiff made a demand on defendants for settlement which was refused, and he then filed a bill in equity for a dissolution and an account. The receiver appointed by the court under the bill was unable to obtain a bid for the personal property on the premises, and nothing of value came into his possession. The master found that such property as remained was worthless. Held, (1) that as there were no assets, no accounts to settle, and nothing remained but to adjust the equities between the parties, a decree in favor of plaintiff to make good to him his loss in-excess of $1,250 could be entered; (2) that the liability of the defendants to pay the loss of the plaintiff in excess of $1,250 was a joint and several liability; (3) that as the partnership had ended and the defendants had refused after demand to adjust the accounts in accordance with the agreement, there was no error in the allowance of interest.