Lawrence v. Halverson

83 P. 889, 41 Wash. 534, 1906 Wash. LEXIS 1002
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 31, 1906
DocketNo. 5848
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 83 P. 889 (Lawrence v. Halverson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Washington Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lawrence v. Halverson, 83 P. 889, 41 Wash. 534, 1906 Wash. LEXIS 1002 (Wash. 1906).

Opinion

Dunbar, J.

The complaint alleged substantially, that tbe plaintiff was a contractor and builder in tbe city of Seattle; that in the month of March, 1903, an oral contract of co-[536]*536partnership was entered into between the plaintiff and defendant, by the terms of which contract it was agreed that the copartners shonld purchase a certain lot described in the complaint; that plaintiff should improve such lot by grading it and erecting thereon a house, the plaintiff to perform the work and the defendant to furnish such sums as should thereafter be agreed upon between the parties, and that said house and lot should be owned by the plaintiff and defendant as copartners; that in pursuance of said contract the plaintiff entered into a contract for the purchase of the aforesaid lot, paid $30 on account, and in consideration thereof; and that, on the 11th day of April, 1903, said contract of purchase was consummated by the execution of a deed for the conveyance of the aforesaid lot to defendant, upon the payment by the defendant of the sum of $695, being the balance due on account of the consideration money; that it was orally agreed by and between the plaintiff and the defendant, immediately after the execution of the deed to the defendant, that the plaintiff, as a pail of his share to be contributed toward the partnership, should grade the lot and excavate for and put in a cement foundation upon which to erect the house, and that such grading was done and the foundation made; that it was afterwards further agreed that a certain double flat building should be erected to cost about $2,800, of which amount the defendant should furnish $1,000 upon the demand of the plaintiff as the work progressed, and the plaintiff should furnish the plans together with lumber, material, labor, etc.; that in accordance with the said agreement the work of erecting the building was begun and progressed, with certain changes mutually agreed upon; that the plaintiff had carried out his part of the partnership agreement in erecting the said building; that the defendant had expressed herself as well satisfied with the work; that on January 5, 1905, the defendant took possession of the building and lot, claiming absolute title and ownership therein, has had possession since', refused to account to plaintiff for his interest or profits in the prop[537]*537erty, and denied any right or interest of the said plaintiff in the property, and refused to settle up in any manner whatever or to convey to the plaintiff his undivided one-half interest in said property. The prayer is, for the dissolution of the partnership; that the defendant he required to pay to plaintiff the amount which shall he found due him on account of the use and occupation of the said building and lot; that the defendant be directed and required to pay to the plaintiff an amount equal to onedialf of the costs of the improvements, and be directed and required to grant and convey one equal undivided one-half interest in and to the land in dispute.

A demurrer was interposed to the amended complaint. The record does not show what disposition was made of it, but presumably it was denied, as the defendant interposed an answer to the amended complaint. The answer is, in effect, a general denial of all the essential allegations of the complaint. The defendant denied that she took possession of the property on January 5, 1905, but said that she had continuous possession of the property since she bought the same in 1903, she having admitted that she had bought the same and paid for it herself; in short, denied any right or interest of the plaintiff in or to said property; admitted that no> accounting was made, but denied that she was under any obligation to make any accounting; and alleged that the plaintiff had no interest, right, or title in one undivided one-half, or any other interest, in said house and lot. Upon the trial by the court the facts were found substantially as alleged in the complaint, with the addition of the fact that, oni the question of the accounting, $631 was due the defendant from the plaintiff, by reason of the amount furnished by each and of the paying of the taxes and of the bills paid generally in the prosecution of the work; and the judgment was that the plaintiff, upon the payment of the sum of $631 to the defendant, was entitled to a decree declaring, adjudging, and decreeing him the owner of an equal undivided one-half interest in and to' all that certain tract of land described in the complaint, free from [538]*538any and all incumbrances. From this judgment this appeal is taken.

An examination of this record shows conclusively to our minds that the court was. warranted in making the findings .of fact which it did make. The defendant at first, in harmony with her answer, denied any interest of the plaintiff in the land, testified that no partnership agreement had ever been entered into between them in relation to the land, and that the respondent had no interest in the matter excepting that she had agreed to give him a certain amount of money for building a certain kind of a house. This position was afterwards abandoned, and the appellant testified, in so many words, that the original idea was that there was a partnership ownership of the lot, and that plaintiff was to contribute half, and they were to improve the lot as they could agree; and she finally testified as follows, in answer to the question:

“Will yon just state to the court — probably the court is informed but I am not and I would like to know — just exactly what the terms of that contract were. What were the terms of that contract, just as briefly as you can ? I was to- furnish $1,000 cash; he was to put up a two-story, of five rooms in each story, building in first class way and manner, and keep it free from all incumbrances and debts, and I to sell that house and he would get his share when that property was sold.”

The testimony of the appellant, as a whole, outside of the testimony of the respondent and his witnesses, shows conclusively that there was a partnership agreement between them, that the house, was started and practically completed under the terms of the agreement, and that the appellant finally became dissatisfied, by reason of the character of material furnished by the respondent and the character of the work which she claimed he was doing, and the changes made in the original plans, and summarily ended the contractual relations between the appellant and respondent, by going into the house and taking possession of the same and, as she says, [539]*539throwing the appellant's tools ont of the house. It is hardly necessary to say that a partnership cannot he terminated in this manner.

It is, however, technically contended by the appellant that, inasmuch as this was an action for a specific performance of a contract, and the court found that there was an obligation on the part of the respondent to pay the appellant $631, the performance of the contract could not be adjudged. It makes no difference what name may be given to an action under our system of pleading, whether in this case the action is denominated an action for specific performance or an action for an accounting, or for the dissolution of a partnership. The prayer in this case seems to be for all three. Our code provides what the pleadings shall consist of in an action, whether that action be termed an action at law or an action in equity. The complaint is a plain and concise statement of facts constituting a cause of action, with a demand for the relief which the plaintiff claims.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
83 P. 889, 41 Wash. 534, 1906 Wash. LEXIS 1002, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lawrence-v-halverson-wash-1906.