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166 Mass. 131

McLauthlin v. Smith

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · decided 1896-05-21

<p> Action between Co-owners for Earnings of Vessel. </p> <p>The relation of quasi partnership between shipowners is, generally, only for the adventure, and, where accounts are settled and a balance struck at the eiid of each voyage, an action at law may be maintained by one part owner against the managing part owner for his share of the earnings of the vessel.</p>

Relies on Smith v. Butler

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1896-05-21

How this case has been cited

Cited by 4 later decisions — most recently March 1943

4 state decisions

20189619001910192019301940decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

Holmes, J.

¶1The whole question is whether we are to understand that the account between the parties was one continuous account current, or that each voyage was, so to speak, a separate partnership, to be wound up by itself. If the former, the case is governed by Smith v. Butler, 164 Mass. 37 ; if the latter, then, as the accounts have been settled, a balance struck, and the other part owners paid, the plaintiffs can maintain the action. Sikes v. Work, 6 Gray, 433. The offer of proof was not very distinct on this point; but as generally the relation of quasi partnership between shipowners is only for the adventure, and as in this case accounts were made up at the end of each voyage, we understand each voyage to have been a separate matter, even if the dividends of different voyages were credited to the plaintiffs successively on the same sheet of the ledger.

¶2 Exceptions sustained.

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