Hook v. Welch

Citations

• 67 Pa. Super. 297
• 1917 Pa. Super. LEXIS 388

Syllabus

<p>Contract — Partnership—Sale of partnership interest — Agreement to assume debt.</p> <p>Where one of two partners sells his undivided one-half interest in a partnership, and the purchaser assumes in writing “the payment of the undivided one-half of the indebtedness of the said partnership consisting of about $6,500 in the form of notes and book .accounts,” the purchaser is bound to pay not the half of the lump sum of the indebtedness, but an undivided half of each and every account as to which the seller was personally liable. In such a case there is no burden on the seller to prove that the purchaser had not paid one-half of the firm indebtedness, if he shows he has been compelled to pay two individual accounts, and sues to recover one-half of such payment.</p> <p>In suing on a contract to recover damages it is sufficient to prove a breach and it is not necessary to show that the contract was broken in its entirety. If an affirmative contract to perform a duty is proved, it is incumbent on the person bound to perform the duty to prove performance.</p> <p>Every agreement is to be construed with reference to the circumstances under which the parties contract.</p> <p>A provision in a contract capable of two interpretations should be most gtrongly construed against the person whose undertaking it is.</p>