Dove v. Coleman
Dove v. Coleman
Opinion of the Court
Appellee, as plaintiff, sued appellant in the district court of Wilbarger county in cause No. 2935, alleging in substance that they entered into a partnership agreement to do a general building and construction business, in which they were to share the profits equally, and in pursuance thereof had several buildings under construction at the same time; that plaintiff looked after some of the buildings and defendant the others; that the partnership business was profitable and was conducted agreeably to both parties until about September 3, 1920, when the defendant ousted plaintiff from the firm and refused to permit him to have anything further to do with the building, which defendant was supervising; that about two weeks prior to the time he was so ousted the defendant had secured for the firm a contract to erect certain buildings for one Kincheloe, and that the construction of such buildings was supervised by defendant, with the assistance of plaintiff, up to the time plaintiff was ousted from the partnership; that the profits arising from the Kincheloe job amounted to $6,000, which sum had been collected by defendant and appropriated to his own use. Plaintiff prayed for recovery of $3,000 for a partnership accounting, a dissolution of the firm, for costs, and general relief. The defendant answered, specially denying under oath the allegation of partnership, and alleging that plaintiff had nothing to do with the Kincheloe job, had no interest in the contract, had never done any work thereon, and was not entitled to recover part of the profits. 1-Ie further alleged that, if any partnership ever existed, it had been dissolved prior to the transactions involved in the suit.
On the same day plaintiff filed a second suit in the district court, numbered 2938, against T. J. Youngblood and J. M. Underwood, alleging, in substance, that a partnership existed between plaintiff and J. O. Dove to do a general contracting business, in which they were to share the profits equally; that they had contracted with the defendants Youngblood and Underwood to construct an undertaking parlor, which was completed and accepted by the defendants about the 25th of August, 1920, and that their profits amounted to $1,224; that defendants had paid Dove one half of said sum, but refused to pay him the other half. Defendants Youngblood and *918 Underwood answered by general denial, and by special answer alleged that about July 1, 1920, they desired to have a brick building erected for an undertaking parlor, and, having heard that J. O. Dove was a skillful and reliable builder, concluded to have him erect it; that plaintiff represented to them that he and Dove were partners in the building business ; that Dove would siiperintend the building and be responsible for its proper construction, and, relying upon such representations, they permitted plaintiff to begin ■ the job. Soon thereafter Dove informed them that he was not a partner with Coleman and that he (Dove) was in no way connected with the work; that defendants were embarrassed and wanting the building completed and were not willing to rely upon Coleman to do the work; that they were not satisfied with the manner in which Coleman was having it done and appealed to Dove to come to their assistance, but he refused to do so or be in any way responsible for it as long as Coleman had anything to do with it; that they therefore discharged Coleman and made a contract with Dove to complete the building for a commission of 10 per cent, on the cost price, which commission amounted to $1,200, one-half of which they had already paid Dove and had always been ready to pay the balance, and which sum they tendered into court to abide the result of the suit. That they would not have permitted Coleman to commence the job but for his representations with reference to the partnership existing between himself and Dove. Dove, appellant herein, intervened in that suit, denied the partnership under oath, claimed the $600 balance due, but admitted that Coleman was entitled to $100 since he had agreed .that defendants might pay him that amount in an effort to settle Coleman’s claim. He further alleged that, if any partnership had ever existed between himself and plaintiff, Coleman, it had been dissolved prior to the transactions involved in the suit. Plaintiff, Coleman, filed what he terms “plaintiff’s original answer to intervener’s original answer,” again pleading substantially the facts set out in his original petition, and in addition thereto that the moving causes leading up to the partnership1 were that he had long been a resident of Vernon; had a wide acquaintance and influence; that he could procure many contracts which the . intervener could not get; and that intervener had illegally and wrongfully induced the defendants to refuse to pay,him his half of the profits. Upon motion of the plaintiff Coleman the two suits were consolidated. Upon a trial before a jury the case was submitted upon two special issues, the substance of the findings being: (1) That Coleman and Dove were partners in the erection of the Youngblood building at the time the contract was made between Coleman and Youngblood ; (2) that Coleman and Dove were partners at the time the contract was made between Dove and Kincheloe for the erection of the Kincheloe building.
The second, third, and fourth assignments of error are based upon the action of the court in refusing to give three special charges. Reference to the record shows that the court had given special charge No. 1, wherein the jury are instructed that a joint interest in a contract is not necessarily a partnership, and that, if they believed from the evidence that in the matter of the Puckett building appellant allowed and paid appellee one-lialf of the profits for his services, and not as a matter of partnership business, then the Puckett transaction furnished no evidence of a partnership between the parties. This charge embodies the substance of special charges Nos. 2 and 3, which were refused by the court. Coleman alleged a partnership which was met by general denial on the part of Dove. The issue of joint or community interest or a claim that Dove was due Coleman anything for services was not made by the pleadings, and in giving special charge No. 1 the court gave appellant more than he was entitled to ask. Hall v. Ray, 179 S. W. 1136 (7-9). The fourth special charge, requested by appellant and refused, was with reference to the right of partners to dissolve the partnership. It was applicable to the facts of the case and should have been given.
“Plaintiffs introduced in evidence the answer of the defendant Texas & New Orleans Railway Company without limitation, and such answer contained the statements of facts above quoted. This is all of the evidence on this phase of the case, and we believe the plaintiffs, ‘having made the statements of his adversary evidence!,’ are ‘concluded by them.’ Baker v. Cook, 13 Tex. 80.”
In the instant case there was other evidence introduced by Coleman upon the question of partnership, and he was therefore not concluded by the statements in the pleadings introduced by him. This disposes of the several assignments bearing upon that question.
The failure of the court to grant a new trial, upon the ground of newly discovered evidence, will probably not arise upon another trial, and the assignment presenting that contention will not be discussed.
For the error pointed out, the judgment is reversed, and the cause remanded.
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