Thompson v. First Nat. Bank of Toledo

111 U.S. 529, 4 S. Ct. 689, 28 L. Ed. 507, 1884 U.S. LEXIS 1812

• Court: Supreme Court of the United States
• Decided: May 5, 1884
• Docket: 344
• Status: Published

Opinion

Mr. Justice Gray

delivered the opinion of the court. He stated the facts in the foregoing language, and continued:

-The plaintiff at the trial sought to charge Thompson with liability as a partner upon two grounds: First, that he was actually a partner. Second, that if not actually a partner he had held himself out to the world as such. And the case was submitted to the jury upon both grounds.

The first and second assignments of error relate to the exclusion of evidence offered by the defendants bearing upon the first ground of action. The third and fourth assignments of error relate to the instructions given and refused as to the second ground of action.

'. The oral testimony offered by the defendants to prove that Thompson, before the partnership articles were signed, and before the partnership began business, instructed Whiteside that he would not become a partner therein, directly tended to contradict the testimony introduced and relied- on by the plaintiff to prove that Thompson was actually a partner, and was erroneously excluded. The first assignment of error is therefore sustained.

From the connection in which the offer of evidence of the contents of the letter from Thompson to Whiteside appears in the bill of exceptions, it is quite possible that this evidence was equally admissible for the same purpose. But the bill of exceptions is defective in not stating what the contents of the letter were, and not showing that they were material, or that the exclusion of the proof of them was prejudicial, to the defendants. The second assignment of error therefore is not sustained. Packet Company v. Clough, 20 Wall. 528; Railway Company v. Smith, 21 Wall. 255.

The remaining and the principal question in the case is, whether the liability of Thompson, by reason of having held himself out as a partner, was submitted to the jury under proper instructions.

The court was requested to instruct the jury that if Thompson was not in fact a member of the partnership, the plaintiff could not recover against him, unless it appeared from the testimony that he had knowingly permitted himself to be held out as a partner, and that the plaintiff had knowledge thereof during its transactions with the partnership. The court declined to give this instruction; and instead thereof instructed the jury, in substance, that if Thompson permitted himself to be held out to the world as a partner, by advertisements and otherwise, as shown by the evidence, and to be introduced to other persons as a partner, the plaintiff was entitled to the benefit of the fact that he was so held out, and he was estopped to deny his liability as a partner, although the plaintiff did not know that he was so held out, and did not rely on him for the payment of the plaintiff’s debt, or give credit to him, in whole or in part.

This court is of opinion that the Circuit Court erred in the instructions to the jury, and in the refusal to give the instruction requested.

A person who is not in fact a partner, who has no interest in the business of the partnership and does not share in its profits, and is sought to be charged for its debts because of having held himself out, or permitted himself to be held out, as a partner, cannot be made liable upon contracts of the partnership except with those who have contracted with the partnership upon the faith of such holding out. In such a case, the only ground of charging him as a partner is, that by his conduct in holding himself out as a partner he has induced persons dealing with, the partnership to believe him to be a partner, and, by reason of such belief, to give credit to the partnership. As'his liability rests solely upon the ground that he cannot be permitted to deny a participation which, though not existing in fact, he has asserted, or permitted to appear to exist, there is no reason why a creditor of the partnership, who has neither known of nor acted upon the assertion or permission, should hold as a partner one who never was in fact, and whom he never understood, or supposed to be, a partner, at the time of dealing with and giving credit to the partnership.

There may be cases in which the holding out has been so public and so long continued that the jury may infer that one dealing with the partnership knew it and relied upon it, without direct testimony to that effect. But the question whether the plaintiff was induced to change his position by acts done by the defendant or by his authority is, as in other cases of estoppel in pais, a question of fact for the jury, and not of law for the court. The nature and amount of evidence requisite to satisfy the jury may vary according to circumstances. But the rule of law is always the same, that one who had no knowledge or belief that the defendant was held out as a partner, and did nothing on the faith of such a knowledge or belief, cannot charge him with liability as a partner if he was not a partner in fact. "

The whole foundation of the theory that a person who, not being in fact a partner, has held himself out as a partner, may be held liable as such to a creditor of the partnership who had no knowledge of the holding out, and who never gave credit .to him or to the partnership by reason of supposing him to be a member of it, is a statement attributed to Lord Mansfield in a note of a trial before him at nisijprius, in 1784, as cited by counsel in,a case in which it was sought to charge as a partner one who had shared in the profits of a partnership. By so much of that note as was thus cited, which is the only report of the case-that has come down to us, it would appear that in an action by Young, a coal merchant, against Mrs. Axtell and another person, to recover for coals sold and delivered, the plaintiff introduced evidence that Mrs. Axtell had lately carried on the coal trade, and that the other defendant did the same under an agreement between them, by which she was to bring what customers she could into the business, and the other defendant was to pay her an annuity, and also two shillings for every chaldron that should be sold to those persons who had been her customers or were of her recommending; and that bills were made out in their joint names for goods sold to her customers ; and that the .jury found a verdict against Mrs. Axtell, after being instructed by Lord Mansfield that “he should have rather thought, on the agreement only, that Mrs. Axtell would be hable, not on account of the annuity, but the other payment, as that would be increased in proportion as she increased the business. However, as she suffered her name to be used in the business, and held herself out as a^ partner, she was certainly liable, though the plaintiff did not, at the time of dealing, know that she was a partner, or that her name was used.” Young v. Axtell, at Guildhall Sittings after Hilary Term, 24 Geo. III., cited in Waugh v. Carver, 2 H. Bl. 235, 242. But as the case was not there cited upon the question of liability by-being held out as a partner, it is by no means certain that we have a full and accurate report of what was said by Lord Mansfield upon that question'; still less that-he intended to lay down a general-rule, including cases in'which one, who in fact had never taken any part iií. or received any profits -from the business, held himself out as partner! .

In delivering the judgment !of the Common Bench in Waugh v. Carver, Chief Justice Eyre said: “Now a case may be stated, in which it is the clear sense of the parties to the contract that they shall not be partners; that A is to .contribute neither labor nor money, and,' to go still farther, not to receive any profits. But if he will lend his-name as a partner, he becomes, as against all the rest of the world, á partner, not upon the ground of the real transaction between them, but upon principles of general policy, to prevent the frauds to which, creditors would be liable, if they were to suppose that they lent their money upon the apparent credit of three or four persons, when in fact they lent it only to two of them, to whom, without the others, they would have lent nothing.” 2 H. Bl. 246.

This statement clearly shows that the reason and object of the rule by which one who, having no interest in the partnership, holds himself out as a partner, is held liable as such, are to prevent frauds upon those who lend their money upon the apparent credit of all who are held out as partners; and the later English authorities uniformly restrict accordingly the effect of such holding out.

In McIver v. Humble, in the King’s Bench in 1812, Lord Ellenborough said: “ A person may make himself liable as a partner with others in two ways: either by a participation in the loss or profits; or in respect of his holding himself' out to the world as such, so as to induce others to give a credit on that assurance.” ' And Mr. Justice Bayley said: “ To make Humble liable, he must either have been a partner in fact in the loss and profit of the ship, or he must have held himself out to be such. Now here he was not in fact a partner, and the goods were not furnished upon his credit, but upon the credit of Holland and Williams.” 16 East, 169, 114, 116.

In Dickinson v. Valpy, in the same court in 1829, Mr. Justice Parke (afterwards Baron Parke and Lord Wensleydale) said: “ If it could have been proved that ,tli<5 defendant had held himself out to be a partner, not ‘to the world,’ for that is a loose expression, but to the plaintiff himself, or under such circumstances of publicity as to satisfy a jury that the plaintiff knew of it and believed him to be a partner, he would be liable to the plaintiff in all transactions in which he engaged and gave credit to the defendant, upon the faith of his being such partner. The defendant would be bound by an indirect representation to the plaintiff, arising from his conduct, as much as if he had stated to him directly and in express terms that he was a partner, and the plaintiff had acted upon that statement.” 10 B & C. 128, 140. And see Carter v. Whalley, 1 B. & A. 11.

In Ford v. Whitmarsh, in the Court of Exchequer in 1840, a direction given by Baron Parke to the jury in substantially the same terms was held by Lord Abinger, Baron Parke, Baron Gurney and Baron Rolfe (afterwards Lord Cranworth) to be a sound aiid proper direction; and Baron Parke, in explaining his ruling at the trial, said : “ I told the jury that the defendant would be liable if the debt was contracted whilst he was actually a partner, or upon a representation of himself as a partner to the plaintiff, or upon such a public representation of himself in that character as to. lead the jury to conclude that the plaintiff, knowing of that representation, and believing the defendant to lie a partner, gave him credit under that belief.” Hurlstone & Walmsley, 53, 55.

In Pott v. Eyton, in the Common Bench in 1846, which was an action by bankers to recover a balance of account against Eyton and Jones, on the ground that either they were actual partners in the business carried on by Jones, or Eyton had by his own permission been held out as a partner, Chief Justice Tindal, delivering the judgment of the court, said: “ There was no evidence to show that credit was in fact given to Eyton, or that the bankers knew that his name was over the door of the shop at Mostyn Quay, or that they supposed him to be a partner. One person who had been manager, and another who had been a clerk in the bank, were in court; and if they could have given such evidence, they would no doubt have been called as witnesses. We must assume, therefore, that credit was given to Jones alone; and, if Eyton is to be made liable, that must be on the ground of an actual partnership between . himself and Jones.” 3 C. B. 32, 39. In Martyn v. Gray, in the same court in 1863, Chief Justice Erie and Mr. Justice Wiiles expressed similar opinions. 14- C. B. (N. S.) 824, 839, 843. The decision of the Court of Exchequer in Edmundson v. Thompson, in 1861, is to the like effect. 31 Law Journal (N. S.) Ex. 207; S. C. 8 Jurist. (N. S.) 235.

Mi’. Justice Bindley, in his Treatise on the Law of Partnership, sums up the law on this point as follows: “ The doctrine that a person holding himself out as a partner and thereby inducing others to act on the faith of his representations, is liable to them as if he were in fact a partner, is nothing more than an illustration of the general principle of estoppel by conduct.” “ The expression in Waugh v. Carver, 1 if he will lend his name as a partner he becomes as against all the rest of the world a"partner,’ requires qualification ; for the real ground on which liability is incurred by holding oneself out as a partner is, that credit has been thereby obtained. This was put with great clearness by Mr. Justice Parke in Dickinson v. Valpy “No person can be fixed with liability on the ground that he has been held out as a partner, unless two things concur, viz.: first, the alleged act of holding out must have been done either by him or by his consent, and, secondly, it must have been known to the person seeking to avail himself of it. In the absence of the first of these requisites, whatever may have been done cannot be imputed to the person sought to be made liable; and in the absence of the second, the person seeking to make him liable has not in any way been misled.” Lindley on Partnership (1st ed.) 45-47; (4th ed.) 48-50.

The current of authority in this country is in the same direction. Be nedict v. Davis, 2 McLean, 347; Hicks v. Cram, 17 Vermont, 449; Fitch v. Harrington, 13 Gray, 469; Wood v. Pennell, 51 Maine, 52; Sherrod v. Langdon, 21 Iowa, 518; Kirk v. Hartman, 63 Penn. St. 97; Hefner v. Palmer, 67 Illinois, 161; Cook v. Penrhyn Slate Co., 36 Ohio St. 135; Uhl v. Harvey, 78 Indiana, 26. The only American case, cited at the bar, which tends to support the ruling below, is the decision of the Commission of Appeals in Poillon v. Secor, 61 N. Y. 456. And the judgment of the Court of Appeals in the later case of Central City Savings Bank v. Walker, 66 N. Y. 424, clearly implies that in the opinion of that court a person not in fact a partner cannot be made liable to third persons on the ground of having been held out as a partner, except upon the principle of equitable estoppel, that he authorized himself to be so hold out, and that the plaintiffs gave credit to him.

The result is that, both upon principle and upon authority, the third and fourth assignments of error, as well as the first, must be sustained, the judgment of the Circuit Court" reversed, and the case remanded to that court with directions to order a

New trial.