Chardón v. Laffaye
Chardón v. Laffaye
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the Court.
This is an appeal from an order granting a preliminary injunction restraining appellant, member of a partnership in liquidation, from using for his individual benefit a deep-well pump, the property of such partnership.
The complaint herein substantially alleged that Julio N Chardón and Carlos Laffaye formed a professional industrial
On the day so set the defendant appeared and demurred to the complaint. He also answered the rule to show cause alleging inter alia that he is utilizing the pump in question in the well at Bayamón, to which place he had removed it before the restraining order had been issued and, hence, a decision on the complaint filed would be academic. Thereupon the complainant filed a motion alleging that when notice of the restraining order was served on the defendant, the latter had not yet finished installing the pump at Bayamón, and the plaintiff moved that the defendant be punished for contempt of court and commanded to suspend immediately further use of the pump, to transport it back to the wells at Río Piedras, and to reinstall it as it formerly stood there. The court decided this motion restraining the defendant from further use of the pump at Bayamón. As to the contempt proceedings, the parties stipulated to let the decision abide the evidence to be introduced at the hearing for the preliminary injunction. After the evidence offered by the parties had been received, the court dismissed the charge of contempt against the defendant and by another order, which is the object of the present appeal, it granted the preliminary injunction asked.
The first error assigned relates to the ruling of the court extending the restraining order so as to include the use of the pump by the defendant at Bayamón, and it is claimed that 'such an extension is not supported by the averments of the complaint.
The fundamental purpose of the complaint is to restrain the' defendant from using the pump for his individual benefit, and one of the means'of preventing such use was to enjoin the
The second error assigned is predicated upon the overruling of the demurrer interposed by the defendant to the complaint on the ground that it does not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action.
As may be seen from the averments of the complaint, plaintiff and defendant formed a civil particular partnership having for its object the practice of a profession under section 1580 of the Civil Code, and it having been dissolved by agreement of the parties, the distribution of the assets among them is governed by the rules relating to the partition of inheritances, as provided by section 1610 of the same code; therefore, all partnership property existing at the time of ihe dissolution belongs in common and undividedly to the two partners pending liquidation of the partnership. In this connection, the judgment of August 3, 1892 of the Supreme Court of Spain cited in Cátala, “Código Cwil,” accordingly held that, upon dissolution of a partnership by the will of the partners, the property belonging to the partnership passed to be owned in common and undividedly by the two persons who were copartners thereof. Hence, the rules provided by the Civil Code for the common ownership of prop: erty apply herein, including the one enacted by section 401, to the effect that each co-owner may use the things held, in common provided he uses them in accordance with the pur:. pose for which they are destined and in such a way as.not. to injure the interest of the community or prevent the co-.. owners from utilizing them according to their rights;' that set forth in section 404, which provides that none of .the co-.. owners shall, without the consent of the others, make $ny alterations in the common property, even though benefits for all may result therefrom; and that covered by section
Nor is the complaint insufficient because movable property may be involved, inasmuch as an action for damages would he inadequate in view of the difficulty of establishing the extent of the injury really caused by the use of the chattel as a trial pump.
In consequence of the foregoing, it was not incumbent on the complainant, as the appellant argues, to allege defendant’s insolvency, because such allegation is necessary only where the fact that the injury will be irreparable or the fact that the remedy will be inadequate depends upon the fact of such insolvency, which is not the case here.
Another objection urged against the complaint is that it is alleged therein that complainant will suffer irreparable
The appellant also argues that injunctive relief is improper in the present case because the complainant has an adequate remedy at law under subdivision 1 of section 182 of the Code of Civil Procedure, in accordance with which a receiver may be appointed by the court in an action pending between partners or others jointly owning or jointly interested in a property. Such remedy, however, would not be available in this case, because no action is pending- between the parties other than the suit for injunction herein.
The third assignment of error is based on the ground that from the allegations and the evidence as a whole it appears that the acts which were sought to be enjoined by the in
It is true that the first restraining order was served upon the defendant after he had removed the pump to Bayamón, but we have already said that, under the averments of the complaint, the restraining order could be extended so as to enjoin the use of the pump in the deep well at that city; hence, and it not clearly appearing that when the second restraining order was served the defendant was using the pump at Bayamón, the error assigned does not exist.
The fourth error is based upon the alleged insufficiency of the evidence to support the preliminary injunction granted.
We have previously stated that the fundamental purpose of the injunction in this case is to restrain the defendant from using for his exclusive benefit a pump jointly owned by himself and the plaintiff, by making innovations or changes therein, without plaintiff’s consent; and the evidence shows that the defendant made changes in the pump in order to use it in the well for which he, individually and for his sole benefit, contracted with the Municipality of Bayamón; hence, it cannot validly be contended that the evidence is insufficient in this case.
Another error assigned, the fifth, is that the lower court erred in granting the preliminary injunction because that decision was in conflict with the one acquitting Laffaye of the contempt charge brought against him by the complainant.
The fact that the defendant was acquitted of the contempt charge based upon his removal of the pump to Bayamón does not necessarily show that the injunction order was not justified. The decision in the contempt proceedings might have been erroneous. We believe, however, that it was justified and that it does not conflict with the order restraining the use of the pump, because what was originally prohibited to the defendant was his removing the pump to Bayamón, and such removal had already been accomplished when the first restraining order was served on him.
In our judgment, no difference of opinion, dispute, or disagreement between the liquidators with respect to the use of the pump during the liquidation exists in this case, but only the appropriation of the pump by one of the co-owners and liquidators for his exclusive benefit by making structural alterations therein, all against the will of the other co-owner and liquidator; hence, such a situation is not covered by the stipulation cited and does not preclude the interposition of the injunction asked and granted.
Such unauthorized use is the controlling and important fact in this case and, therefore, it is of no importance here that the complaint did not allege — while the evidence showed —-that the complainant was a bidder at the auction for the construction of the deep well at Bayamón which was awarded to the defendant; nor that the deprivation of defendant’s use of the pump at Bayamón might entail prejudice to the community of property above mentioned, as the defendant should not have counted for said construction work upon the pump, the use of which was not consented to by the co-owner thereof.
The order appealed from must be affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.