Roth v. Boies

115 N.W. 930, 139 Iowa 253
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedApril 11, 1908
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 115 N.W. 930 (Roth v. Boies) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Roth v. Boies, 115 N.W. 930, 139 Iowa 253 (iowa 1908).

Opinion

Weaver, J.—

The appellee was admitted to the practice of law in the year 1881, and during the succeeding period of nine years had been actively engaged in the business of his profession, first at Sanborn, and thereafter at Sheldon, O’Brien county, Iowa. In the year 1890 his business appears to have been well established, and of growing importance. The plaintiff was admitted to the bar in June, 1890, and on July 28th of the same year the parties entered into a written contract of partnership, which writing, omitting caption and signatures, is in the following words:

This agreement witnesseth: That W. D. Boies, party of the first part, and George W. Roth, party of the second part, have this day entered into a contract of partnership for the practice of the law in its various branches at Sheldon, Iowa, under the firm name of Boies & Roth, in the following manner and upon the following conditions: Second party upon the payment of five hundred dollars ($500), the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, is admitted as a partner having and holding a one-third interest in and to the library, safe, typewriter, and all office fixtures and furniture, and to be entitled in the future to receive one-third of the profits of the business of the firm, first party the other two-thirds; second party to have no interest whatever in first party’s present business now pending, or in cases wherein he has been [256]*256retained, or collections or other business except such collections as now appear upon the collection register with no cross (x) in the No.’ column.
Part Second. It is agreed that first party, at his option, at any time may retire from the firm, and in that case second party shall pay him eight hundred dollars ($800) for his interest in the library, office fixtures, and furniture, together with such additional amount as may be agreed upon for property placed in the office by the firm after this date, and in case an agreement cannot be made in relation to the said additions made then the same to be divided according to the interests of the partners; the said amounts to be secured by first mortgage on the whole library, office fixtures and furniture to be paid in equal payments of one and two years at eight per cent., after maturity.
It is further agreed as a partial consideration of Part Second ’ that in case first party shall retire from the firm that second party shall finish, conclude, and carry on the business of the firm then on hand, and pay to first party one-third of the proceeds arising therefrom. ■ The amount earned by the firm while in existence is to be divided in proportion to the respective interests of the partners. First party always reserves the option to dispose of his interest to some other lawyer, provided such lawyer shall be acceptable to second party as a partner. In case first party elects to retire from the firm and second party is not willing to perform the conditions of the contract in relation to the purchase of first party’s interest as above set forth, then first party shall have the right to pay the second party the $500.00 paid by him to enter the firm, and second party shall retire therefrom, and the partnership stand dissolved.

On April 27, 1903, this action was begun by the appellant, who alleges that said partnership continued until June 1, 1901, when it was dissolved by mutual consent, and that during the entire period of said partnership the greater part of its earnings and income had been paid to and received by the appellee, by whom no accounting had ever been made to him. He asks that an accounting be had, and that he have judgment against appellee for his proper share in the fruits of the partnership. The appellee’s answer admits [257]*257the contract of partnership, and that the parties continued to do business thereunder until May 18, 1901, at which date he alleges it was dissolved in pursuance to the terms of said contract, the plaintiff retiring from said partnership.

The second count of the answer charges that plaintiff neglected the partnership business and gave his time largely to the conduct of his own private affairs and those óf his family relatives, and that the time thus lost by him during the last six years of the partnership was reasonably worth $2,000 per year, for which allowance should be made in the accounting.

The third count of the answer alleges that during said last-mentioned period the plaintiff had earned large sums of money in business dealings and transactions and in services rendered for others, with which earnings and profits he should be charged in the accounting.

The fourth count of the answer repeats the charge that plaintiff neglected the business of the firm, and alleges that by reason thereof defendant was compelled to perform and did perform work and service beyond what would have been required of him had plaintiff done his full duty under the contract, and that his extra or additional service so performed was reasonably worth $12,000. At the close of the trial appellee amended his answer by alleging that prior to the making of the written contract, and as a part consideration therefor, plaintiff orally agreed to devote his entire time and energies to the business and to the study and practice of law, but in fact, after said partnership had Tjeen performed, he neglected the firm business, and gave his attention and time to his private business to such extent that the value of his service to the firm was greatly diminished, and that on or about November 1, 1899, the parties entered into an agreement by which, in consideration of his failure to give his time and attention to the firm business, plaintiff was to make no claim to any partnership interest in the fees or money earned by the defendant after May 15, 1894.

[258]*258All of these allegations are denied by the plaintiff.

1. Partnership: modification of contract: dissolution: evidence. I. The first pertinent inquiry relates to the time when the partnership relation between the appellant and the ap-pellee ceased to exist. As to this there is but slight question in the pleadings; the appellant alleging, as we have seen, the date of the dissolution to have been June 1, 1901, while the appellee asserts it to have taken place on May 18, 1901. This difference of about two weeks is not very material except as it affects certain fees earned and possibly certain collections made during that period. The amendment to the answer does not in terms or by necessary implication withdraw the previous allegation as to the date of the dissolution, nor does it allege that a dissolution took place prior to May 18, 1901, but says, in effect, that by express agreement or tacit understanding of the parties after May 15, 1894, appellant was to receive nothing from the firm business except what he himself earned, and that he did in fact receive and retain to his own use all of that part of the earnings and income to which he was entitled. In other words, the amendment sets up, not a dissolution of the partnership prior to May 18, 1901, but a modification of the contract between them by which appellant was no longer entitled to receive a one-third share of the combined earnings. It is true that in his testimony on the trial appellee says that from 1891 to 1901 he and the appellant did not have very much in common ” in business, and “ that the partnership was practically dissolved then or before, . .

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Bluebook (online)
115 N.W. 930, 139 Iowa 253, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/roth-v-boies-iowa-1908.