Arnold v. Caprielian

437 S.W.2d 620, 1969 Tex. App. LEXIS 2163
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJanuary 30, 1969
Docket345
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 437 S.W.2d 620 (Arnold v. Caprielian) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Arnold v. Caprielian, 437 S.W.2d 620, 1969 Tex. App. LEXIS 2163 (Tex. Ct. App. 1969).

Opinion

MOORE, Justice.

This is a suit for dissolution of an alleged partnership, for an accounting and for distribution of the partnership real estate and other assets, brought by appellant, D. H. Arnold, against appellees, P. Caprieli-an and his son, J. E. Caprielian. The suit was filed on August 23, 1962. Appellees, P. Caprielian and J. E. Caprielian, in addition to a general denial, denied under oath the existence of the alleged partnership and specially alleged that the partnership did not come into being in 1949 because the plaintiff failed to make his contribution to the capital, and the portion thereof which plaintiff did put up had been returned to the plaintiff and accepted by him, and, in the alternative, that if the partnership existed at any time, that the parties had rescinded and abandoned the same and it had been terminated and disposed of many years ago.

Trial was had before the court sitting without a jury. At the conclusion of the evidence, the trial court rendered judgment in favor of appellees, P. Caprielian and J. E. Caprielian, and entered a take-nothing judgment against appellant, D. H. Arnold, from which he perfected this appeal.

At the request of D. H. Arnold, the trial court filed findings of fact and conclusions of law. The trial court’s findings of fact deemed to be material to this appeal are as follows:

(1) That appellee, P. Caprielian, executed the following instrument (offered in evidence as Plaintiff’s Exhibit 1):

“Crockett, Texas August 10/19 49
“This agreement is made between P. Caprielian and D. H. Arnold both of Crockett, Texas, for the purpose of buying and operating the two cotton gins located in Crockett, Texas, Houston County now operated under the names of Berry Gin Co. and LeMay Gin Co. under the management of Frank Shank and Alton LeMay respectively
*622 “It is expressly agreed that above P. Caprielian, and D. H. Arnold will have equal half interests in the venture. The total purchase price being $50,000.00. P. Caprielian agreed to pay his half share of purchase price, namely $25,000.00 and D. H. Arnold remaining half $25,000.00.
“P. Caprielian to have full charge of supervision of the operation of the above mentioned cotton Gins.
“This agreement is made in duplicate and signed by the two agreeing parties.
“/s/ P. Caprielian

(2) That subsequent to the execution of the foregoing instrument, P. Caprielian executed the following instrument on September 15, 1949, (offered in evidence as Plaintiff’s Exhibit 2):

“This is to ceritfy that D. H. Arnold of this city as a silent partner is the co-owner of the two cotton gin plants recently purchased by me, namely Berry Ginn Co. and LeMay Gin Co. both citu-ated in Crockett, Texas.
“Of the purchase price of $50,000.00, $25,000.00 being furnished by D. H. Arnold entitles him for full one half ownership of the properties and machinery covered by a deed and recorded in Houston County Qerk’s office, and also one half share of profits derived from gin operations under the management of myself, having full authority to dispense the affairs of the business.
“/s/ P. Caprielian”

(3) Shortly after executing the instrument of August 10, 1949, P. Caprielian proceeded with negotiations to acquire the Berry and LeMay Gin properties and acquired both properties upon the same date, paying a total consideration of $50,000.00 therefor. All of this money was paid out of moneys put up by P. Caprielian, who took title in his name only. P. Caprielian immediately thereafter notified the plaintiff, D. H. Arnold, or those acting in his behalf, of such acquisition, and on September 7, 1949, the plaintiff caused to be deposited in P. Caprielian’s bank account the sum of $12,500.00, which was only one-half of the amount which plaintiff had agreed to contribute to the acquisition of these properties. Thereafter, P. Caprielian contacted the plaintiff or his representative in an effort to obtain the other $12,500.00, but was unable to do so; that plaintiff’s representative advised him that plaintiff was unable to put up the additional $12,500.00, and that this occurred somewhere around the time of the delivery of the instrument dated September 15, 1949, as Mr. Caprielian had carried said instrument to the plaintiff’s representative for the purpose of obtaining the additional $12,500.00, which he never obtained, and he continued to operate the two gins as a sole proprietorship. During the fall of 1949, or early part of 1950, P. Caprielian returned the $12,500.00 which had been put up by the plaintiff, and the plaintiff accepted the same.

(4) Plaintiff did not contribute or tender within a reasonable time the amount that was required as his contribution to the capital of the proposed 1949 partnership with P. Caprielian, and P. Caprielian did not waive the requirements thereof.

(5) The contribution to the capital was a condition to the forming of a partnership and plaintiff not having made his full contribution, said partnership was never formed but was abandoned by plaintiff, which was acquiesced in by P. Caprielian.

(6) P. Caprielian acquiesced in plaintiff’s abandonment of the venture and in 1949 or early 1950 repaid to plaintiff the amount which plaintiff had put up, and plaintiff accepted the same as a return of capital and not as a profit.

(7) The purchase price for the Berry and LeMay gins was all furnished by P. Caprielian, and the plaintiff not having paid the full amount which he was required to pay but having accepted a return of the amount which he did put up as a return *623 of the principal, the same disposed of any equity which he might be entitled to in the Berry and LeMay gin properties, or any interest therein did not pass to plaintiff.

(8) P. Caprielian operated the Berry and LeMay gins throughout as a sole proprietorship or as ownership between himself and J. E. Caprielian, and reported income therefrom as his income or as the income of P. Caprielian and J. E. Caprielian and paid the taxes on the property constituting the same each and every year prior to delinquency, and plaintiff knew that there were times when there were necessarily profits from the operation thereof; he did not inquire about the same, never asked to see the books, and no partnership income tax return in connection with the operations of P. Caprielian and the plaintiff was ever filed or reported, and the dealings between the parties were always on the basis of debtor and creditor, and if any partnership was ever formed, the same was immediately abandoned and plaintiff’s capital returned to him.

(9) There was no amendment to the 1949 written agreements whereby plaintiff was permitted to put up less than the $25,000.00.

(10) P. Caprielian did not waive the requirement of the plaintiff to put up the entire $25,000.00, but insisted thereon, and when the same was not put up as agreed, he returned the amount which the plaintiff did put up, and plaintiff accepted the same as a return of the money which he had put up.

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Bluebook (online)
437 S.W.2d 620, 1969 Tex. App. LEXIS 2163, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/arnold-v-caprielian-texapp-1969.