Solomon v. Solomon

157 P.2d 605, 62 Ariz. 311, 1945 Ariz. LEXIS 190
CourtArizona Supreme Court
DecidedApril 5, 1945
DocketCivil No. 4626.
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 157 P.2d 605 (Solomon v. Solomon) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Arizona Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Solomon v. Solomon, 157 P.2d 605, 62 Ariz. 311, 1945 Ariz. LEXIS 190 (Ark. 1945).

Opinion

STANFORD, C. J.

Harry Solomon was the plaintiff in the action brought in the superior court. Samuel Solomon and Lawrence J. Berry were the defendants. The case was dismissed as to Berry. We shall style the Solomons as plaintiff and defendant as designated in the trial court, although by reason of the appeal they are appellant and appellee.

The case was tried by the court without a jury. The judgment was rendered for defendant, Samuel Solomon, and plaintiff, Harry Solomon, has appealed.

In 1938 at Tucson, Arizona, defendant conveyed to Lawrence J. Berry an undivided one-half interest in and to certain real estate holdings in Pima County, Arizona, mainly located in and about Tucson, all of which property stood in the name of Samuel Solomon. Thereafter Lawrence J. Berry brought an action asking that he be awarded the whole of the real property held by Samuel Solomon, and plaintiff then filed this action to establish in his favor a trust on the property held by defendant. In the first case Berry was the plaintiff and Samuel Solomon and Harry Solomon were the defendants. In the Berry case the judgment of *313 the trial court was to the effect that he was not entitled to the relief asked, Berry having theretofore been given a deed to a one-half interest in the property involved. Berry thereupon appealed his case, and this court on May 10,1943, rendered its opinion as set forth in Berry v. Solomon, 60 Ariz. 333, 137 Pac. (2d) 386, in which opinion the judgment of the trial court was affirmed.

Por a better understanding of the present case, we quote the following from the judgment in the trial court in the case of Berry v. Solomon, supra:

“It is Ordered, Adjudged and Decreed that the defendant Samuel Solomon is entitled to one-half undivided interest, subject to the interest of Harry Solomon, if any; and Lawrence J. Berry is entitled to one-half undivided interest, and title is hereby vested in each of them in equal undivided shares as above set out, . . . .”

The defendant first came to Tucson from New York in 1931, returning to New York in 1933. He came to Tucson again in 1934. Before coming from New York the first time he was interested with plaintiff in the novelty business and when he went to Tucson the second time he opened a novelty store.

In the summer of 1935 defendant wrote plaintiff, who was in New York, that he had on hand about $750, proceeds of sale of goods shipped to him by the New York office owned by the two of them, which he was not remitting for the reason that he had an opportunity to purchase two lots in Tucson and asked plaintiff’s approval to use the funds for that purpose. There was nothing in the record showing that this investment was for a partnership purchase. The trial court’s findings indicate that all property acquired by defendant was for his separate account.

In September, 1936, defendant wired plaintiff $250 urging him to come to Tucson, and the two operated a business known as “Sam Solomon and Brother,” carrying novelty goods.

*314 Shortly after plaintiff arrived in Tncson in the fall of 1936, plaintiff and defendant, Samuel Solomon, discussed the idea of entering into a partnership with Lawrence J. Berry, of New York, looking to the formation of a real estate business. Berry came to Tucson in the1 late fall of 1936, and it is our understanding a' partnership was formed in January, 1937, whereby it was orally agreed between the three parties that each would invest the sum of $3,000 and each party would' be a one-third owner in the real estate business and assets of Solomon Brothers. The defendant contributed real .estate and rights to the partnership, but did not transfer title. Berry contributed cash. Nothing was paid in by plaintiff.

In January, 1938, Berry went to Tucson after having returned to his home in New York and made his claim to sixty per cent of the property involved, but agreed to accept an undivided one-half interest, and the same was accepted in full accord and satisfaction of his claim, and Samuel Solomon delivered to Berry a deed for such interest on January 18, 1938.

Among the asserted errors made by the trial court as contended by appellant are the following which we think are important.to discuss: The court erred in submitting findings of fact Nos. 1, 3 and 4, and that the court also erred in not admitting in evidence the testimony of Jane G-oldberger upon the stipulation that if she were present she would give certain testimony.

The findings objected to are as follows:

“1. That a partnership existed between plaintiff Harry Solomon and defendant Samuel Solomon in New York City dealing with certain novelty merchandise from 1932 to the latter part of 1936, which was dissolved, and that a new partnership was formed between Samuel Solomon, Harry Solomon and Lawrence J. Berry to deal in, purchase, sell and develop real property in Pima County, Arizona, in January, 1937.”.

“3. That pursuant to said agreement, defendant Samuel Solomon put in certain equities, options, con *315 tracts and various parcels of real estate into the said partnership, which were individual and personal assets of the .said Samuel Solomon in which the plaintiff Harry Solomon had no interest whatever, either individually or through the former two-way partnership herein above mentioned; that Lawrence J. Berry, at various times during the year 1937, contributed and invested into said partnership the sum of $10,200.00; That Harry Solomon contributed neither property nor money into the purchases or development of any of the partnership properties, either directly or through his brother Samuel Solomon.”

“4. That on or about January 18th, 1938, the three parties aforementioned met in Tucson and agreed that one-half undivided interest into all the partnership properties, the subject matter of this litigation, should go to Lawrence J. Berry and the other half to Samuel Solomon, which agreement was then and there executed.”

The stipulated testimony, which was rejected, is as follows:

“The said Samuel Solomon was supported solely by the partnership which existed between Harry Solomon and Samuel Solomon during the years 1932 to 1936, inclusive, and that the very first parcel of real estate purchased by the said partnership in the name of the defendant, Samuel Solomon, was purchased with joint funds of this plaintiff and the said Samuel Solomon, and that the said Samuel Solomon first obtained the consent of this plaintiff to said purchase before making the same and placing the title to the same in his own name for the benefit of both this plaintiff and the said Samuel Solomon, in equal shares.”

The evidence in this case is very unsatisfactory. There are many conflicts and inconsistencies. If it had been our duty to determine the facts in the first instance, we might have come to a different conclusion than that arrived at by the trial court. The testimony as a whole was conflicting. There is sufficient evidence to sustain the findings, and we are *316

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
157 P.2d 605, 62 Ariz. 311, 1945 Ariz. LEXIS 190, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/solomon-v-solomon-ariz-1945.