Daigneault v. Kolashuk

Syllabus

The plaintiff appealed from the trial court's judgment for the defendants on his claims for, inter alia, statutory theft and breach of fiduciary duty. The plaintiff owned and operated an auto repair business, and, for approximately twenty-eight years, the plaintiff and his daughter, the defendant D, jointly operated the business. D's husband owned the defendant A Co., which peri- odically stored towed vehicles on the property of the business. The plaintiff claimed, inter alia, that the court improperly found that there was a de facto partnership between the plaintiff and D. Held: The trial court's finding that there was a de facto partnership between the plaintiff and D was not clearly erroneous, as there was ample support in the record for such a finding. This court declined to review various of the plaintiff's other claims, includ- ing claims that the trial court improperly found that joint account holders are joint owners of the account and that A Co. did not have an oral agree- ment to pay the business for the storage of vehicles, as those claims were inadequately briefed. Argued April 23, 2025—officially released March 24, 2026