Consaul v. Cummings

Citations

• 222 U.S. 262
• 32 S. Ct. 83
• 56 L. Ed. 192
• 1911 U.S. LEXIS 1783

Syllabus

<p>The law implies equality between partners and does not favor claims of the survivor for services rendered after dissolution of the firm and which lead to efforts to prove disparity.</p> <p>Each partner is bound to devote himself to the firm’s, business and there is no implied obligation on the part of the other partners to pay him more than his proportion for performing his duty; and this rule applies to a surviving partner completing the business of the firm.</p> <p>While equity at times makes exceptions to the general rule that a surviving partner is not allowed compensation for winding up the affairs of the copartnership, this case does not fall within such exceptions.</p> <p>A limited partnership formed by two lawyers to prosecute claims against the Government, one of whom had already secured the claims and the other of whom was to attend to the prosecution, held, not to be one in which either the lunacy or death of the former would amount to a dissolution or entitle the survivor to extra compensation for prosecuting the claims after such events to a successful conclusion, the partnership gains being payable in solido and dependent upon success, and the record showing that the deceased partner did not at any time aid materially in the prosecution of the claims and was not expected to.</p> <p>A surviving partner of a law firm prosecuting claims under powers of attorney from the claimants to the deceased partner cannot retain the business individually and claim that the powers to the deceased partner were revoked by his death; he must account to the representatives of the deceased partner for his share of the fees. -</p> <p>If the defendant should have previously accounted, but wantonly refused or neglected so to do, interest is properly chargeable from the fifing of the bill.</p> <p>If a defendant did not except to a ruling fixing a-date for calculating interest on an account, and asked.to be allowed interest on advances from' the same date, he is deemed to ha