Acha v. District Court of Ponce

31 P.R. 144
Supreme Court of Puerto Rico·Decided July 29, 1922·No. No. 339·Published

Opinion

Me. Justice Hutchison

delivered the opinion of the court.

In January, 1921, Emil Trautmann brought suit against the firm of Trautmann & Acha and the members thereof, G-eorge Trautmann and Eduardo Acha, alleging the said firm to be a mercantile partnership engaged .in the exploitation of manganese and marble.

Eduardo Acha, on his own behalf “and as managing-partner of the mercantile firm Trautmann & Acha,” appeared [145]*145and answered, expressly alleging, among other things, in a connter-complaint:

“That the eoiTuter-complainant entered into a partnership with George Trautmann to engage in. the business of exploiting, minerals wherein the counter-complainant had an interest of 45 per cent and., George Trautmann an interest of 55 per cent, the losses and profits', 'to be shared in equal proportions.”

On February 20, 1921, defendant Acha moved to quash an attachment upon grounds stated as follows:

' “First: That the mover is a managing partner of the defendant partnership of Trautmann &.Acha.
“Second: That the plaintiff herein, upon filing his complaint, moved for and obtained from the court, to secure the effectiveness-of the judgment that might be rendered, an order of attachment upon the property of the defendants in a sum sufficient to cover the principal and costs, and pursuant to said order the plaintiff pointed out to the marshal as property upon which the attachment, could be levied a house of the exclusive ownership of the mover which had not been contributed to the said partnership, the description of which is as follows: (Describing it.)
“Third: That an attachment was levied on the said property as aforesaid to secure the effectiveness of the judment when no judgment had yet been rendered herein, and therefore the time of its execution has not arrived, it being only then when the property of the exclusive ownership of the partners may be levied on and' sold, after a discussion of the property of the partnership.”

The brief in support of this motion states, as the sole ground therefor, that “the attachment is premature, inasmuch as the time for the discussion of the property of the firm has not yet come when the creditor my proceed specially against the property of the partners which was not contributed to the firm.”

In support of this proposition defendant relied entirely upon section 127 of the Code of Commerce and the interpretation thereof by the Supreme Court of Spain in its decisions of December 17, 1872; February 16, 1897, and June' 23, 1903.

[146]*146Counsel for plaintiff, in reply, cited the case of Successors of M. A. Lamadrid & Co. v. Martorell, 27 P. R. R. 551. The second appeal in the same case, reported at page 824, vol. 28 of P. R. R., had not at that time been decided.

The first paragraph of the statement made by the trial judge in giving his reasons for overruling this motion on March 24, 1921, reads as follows:

“This is an action of debt brought against the firm of Traut-mann & Acha, a general partnership, and against its partners, George Trautmann and Eduardo Acha y Calimaño.”

On July 5th Judge Eivera Zayas, who overruled the motion last above mentioned, having been .succeeded by Judge Foote, defendant again moved to quash the attachment, setting forth the following:

“2nd. That although it is alleged’ in the complaint that the firm of Trautmann & Acha is a mercantile partnership, an allegation that has been denied in the answer, the fact is that it is a civil, partnership constituted under the Civil Code of Porto Rico by a public instrument executed before the notary public of Ponce Eduardo' Flores Colón on August 21, 1918, there being no clause in the said partnership contract making the partners liable in solichim for the debts' contracted by the firm.
3rd. That the plaintiff, upon, filing the complaint herein, moved and obtained, to secure the effectiveness of the judgment that might be rendered, an order of attachment upon the property of the defendants in an amount sufficient to cover the principal and costs, ■■and pursuant to said' order the plaintiff pointed out to the marshal ■•as property subject to the levy a house of the exclusive ownership <of the mover which had not been contributed to the partnership, described as follows:
* m m ■ * * «
“4th. That according to the allegations of the complaint herein, Emil Trautmann sues the firm of Trautmann & Acha and the partners constituting the same, George Trautmann and Eduardo Acha, for a certain sum of, money alleged to be owing by the said partnership to him as assignee of a credit on current account owed by the said firm to George Trautmann; and the allegation set up in the complaint and generally and specifically denied in the answer [147]*147that the said partnership was a mercantile firm was a malicious allegation, made for the express purpose of attaching the property of the exclusive ownership.of the mover, which was not contributed to the partnership.
* # * * « *
“6th. That in the month of February of the current year, or at the initiation of this suit, the mover moved for a dissolution of the attachment levied on the said house and the said motion was overruled .by this court, but the whole argument was made upon the erroneous theory that the private property of the managing 'partner •not contributed' to the firm could not be attached until after a discussion of the property belonging to the firm, and the proposition which is now raised to prove and discuss the point is entirely distinct, that is, that the firm of Trautmann & Acha, as stated above, is a civil partnership, and, in accordance with section 1600 of the Revised Civil Code in force, the liability of the partners in this kind of partnerships is not in solickim.

This motion was overruled on September 8, 1921.

On November 10, 1921, defendant Eduardo Acha, “on his own behalf and as managing partner of' the mercantile partnership of Trautmann & Acha,” filed an amended answer in which, after a general denial, he set up as one of several special defenses that “the partnership of Trautmann & Acha is a civil partnership.”

And in the counter-complaint the said defendant then alleged:

“First: That the counter-complainant entered into a partnership with George Trautmann to engage in the business of exploiting minerals wherein the counter-complainant had an interest of 45 per cent and George Trautmann an interest of 55 per cent, the losses and profits to be shared in equal proportions.”

On December 3, 1921, .defendant Eduardo Acha filed a petition in this court for a writ of certiorari, alleging that on June 17, 1921, Emil Trautmann had filed a complaint as aforesaid, which is copied verbatim in the petition,- that in addition to the reattachment of certain property of the firm in excess of the amount involved, levy had been made [148]

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Acha v. District Court of Ponce, 31 P.R. 144 (prsupreme 1922).

31 P.R. 144 (Acha v. District Court of Ponce) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.