Salsul Co. v. Kohlmeyer & Co.

354 So. 2d 711, 1978 La. App. LEXIS 2814
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 11, 1978
DocketNo. 8672
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 354 So. 2d 711 (Salsul Co. v. Kohlmeyer & Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Salsul Co. v. Kohlmeyer & Co., 354 So. 2d 711, 1978 La. App. LEXIS 2814 (La. Ct. App. 1978).

Opinions

GULOTTA, Judge.

We are confronted with a motion to dismiss this appeal, which we deny, and the appeal on its merits, which we affirm.

In this action, plaintiff, as assignee of Raymond F. Salmen, a partner in commen-dam with general partners of Kohlmeyer & Co.,1 seeks the following relief: 1) a money judgment against Kohlmeyer & Co. in liquidation resulting from the alleged improper voluntary liquidation of assets; 2) an accounting from the liquidators; and 3) the appointment of a judicial liquidator or receiver of Kohlmeyer & Co. to complete the liquidation.2

The trial judge maintained an exception of no right of action. Although no reasons were assigned by him for maintaining the exception, implicit in his decision is the determination that the proper party plaintiff is not Salsul but is Raymond F. Salmen, the partner in commendam with the general partners of Kohlmeyer & Co. Thereafter, in a motion for new trial, plaintiff sought the right to amend the petition by making Raymond F. Salmen a party plaintiff. This motion was denied and, in written reasons assigned by the trial judge, he stated:

“The Court feels that the petition cannot be cured- by amendment. The proper plaintiff must proceed by petition.”

Plaintiff appeals. We affirm.

MOTION TO DISMISS

At the outset, we are confronted with SalsuPs motion to dismiss its own appeal on the ground of mootness in view of certain events which have occurred subsequent to the lodging of the appeal.

Following plaintiff’s filing the instant suit, Paul Karp, a limited partner of Kohl-meyer, intervened and asserted claims similar to those urged by plaintiff. A motion to dismiss the Karp intervention was denied by the trial court. Subsequent to the court’s maintaining the exception of no right of action as to Salsul, the Succession of Raymond F. Salmen also intervened, seeking relief prayed for by Salsul. Kohl-meyer answered Karp’s petition of intervention and requested a judicial liquidation and an accounting, and the trial judge rendered judgment ordering an accounting and a liquidation.

Subsequently, on November 14, 1977, the trial court supplemented its judgment for the liquidation and the accounting by ordering the judicial liquidators to file suit on or before September 30, 1978, “to determine the rights, status and legal relationship, if any, between Kohlmeyer & Co. and its general partners on the one hand and the Succession of Raymond F. Salmen, Salsul Company and Paul Karp on the other hand”. On the basis of this judgment, Sal-sul maintains that the appeal before us is now moot. We disagree.

A case is moot when the rendition of a judgment can have no practical or useful effect on the existing dispute between the parties and no practical relief can be determined from it. Spinato v. Lowe, 239 La. 604, 119 So.2d 480 (1960); Cook v. Cook, 320 So.2d 612 (La.App. 4th Cir. 1975), writ denied, 323 So.2d 477 (La.1975).

Salsul’s petition asks for the appointment of a judicial liquidator and for an accounting, but it also asks “to have its claim [713]*713against the defendant recognized”. Though we agree that plaintiff’s claims for a judicial liquidation and an accounting are now moot, the question of the recognition of Salsul’s rights in the Kohlmeyer partnership and in the liquidation is still open. Though it is true that these rights, if any exist, would presumably be decided in the suit to be filed by the liquidators on or before September 30, 1978, we conclude that Salsul’s right of action, if any exists, should be determined in this appeal. The future suit to ascertain the rights of the parties will raise the same question which is now before us. Judicial economy, therefore, requires consideration of the issue now on appeal. Moreover, if we dismiss the appeal on the ground of mootness, the trial court’s judgment maintaining the exception of no right of action as to Salsul will become final and, perhaps (although we do not pass on this question), res judicata might apply as to rights between Salsul and the defendants in the future proceedings to be filed by the liquidators. It is apparent that more confusion will result if we dismiss this appeal. Accordingly, the motion to dismiss the appeal is denied.

NO RIGHT OF ACTION

Plaintiff’s contentions, on appeal, are: 1) that the effect of maintaining the exception of no right of action is an erroneous determination by the trial judge that plaintiff, in its petition, asserts rights as a partner in commendam of Kohlmeyer & Co. and not as a creditor of defendant. It is plaintiff’s position that as a creditor of Kohlmeyer & Co. it is entitled to seek the appointment of a judicial liquidator or receiver, to obtain an accounting and to recover a money judgment resulting from the improper voluntary liquidation of the company’s assets; 2) that the trial judge erroneously failed to recognize the valid assignment of Raymond F. Salmen’s rights arising out of the partnership agreements to plaintiff; and 3) that the trial judge, once having maintained the exception of no right of action, erroneously denied plaintiff’s request to include Raymond F. Salmen as a party plaintiff. In this connection, Salsul relies on LSA-C.C.P. art. 934.3

At the outset, we reject plaintiff’s contention that the trial judge erred in failing to recognize that plaintiff’s rights are asserted as a creditor of Kohlmeyer' & Co. in liquidation and not as a partner in commendam. This issue was laid to rest by this court in the earlier litigation, Salsul Company v. Kohlmeyer, 325 So.2d 858 (La. App. 4th Cir. 1976), writ denied, 330 So.2d 281 (La.1976), in which we stated:

“. . .we are led to the conclusion that Salmen is a partner in commendam of the partnership and not a creditor. sic * *

Plaintiff seeks to reassert, in this appeal, the same issue between the same parties which was decided by this court in its earlier decision. Upon the denial of the writ application by the Supreme Court this judgment became final.

We find no merit, further, in plaintiff’s contention that Salsul is the proper party plaintiff, having acquired Salmen’s rights by assignment. As pointed out by defendant, Salsul does not allege that it is a partner of Kohlmeyer. Plaintiff does allege, however, that Salmen is the managing partner of Salsul and as such Salsul, through its managing partner, Salmen, has the right to assert Salsul’s claim against defendant. Admittedly, Salmen entered into a partnership with Kohlmeyer & Co. For the purposes of the exception, we assume that Sal-men assigned whatever rights he has or [714]*714may have, growing out of the partnership agreement, to a third party, i. e., Salsul.

Agreements of a partner with a third person are covered in LSA-C.C. art. 2871.4 This article reads:

Art. 2871. Right of one partner to make a partnership of his share with a third person
“Art. 2871. Every partner may, without the consent of his partners, enter into a partnership with a third person, for the share which he has in the partnership, but he can not, without the consent of his partners, make him a partner in the original partnership, should he even have the administration of it.

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Salsul Co. v. Kohlmeyer
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354 So. 2d 711, 1978 La. App. LEXIS 2814, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/salsul-co-v-kohlmeyer-co-lactapp-1978.