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46 S.C.L. 183

Coleman v. Coleman

Court of Appeals of South Carolina · decided 1859-05-15

BEFORE O’NEALL, J., AT EDGEFIELD, SPRING TERM, 1859. The report of his Honor, the presiding Judge, is ás follows: “ In this case it appeared that the plaintiff and defendant had been partners, that on a bill' filed for an account, the matter had been referred to arbitrators, who examined and awarded updn the matters in dispute, and in the award, directed that the plaintiff and defendant should each pay one-half of the outstanding debts of the firm.

Decided 1859-05-15

¶1The opinion of the Court was delivered by

O’Nball, J.

¶2The award in this case, in the Court of Equity, and its confirmation, in that Court, ended the relation of partners between the parties. It directed that the outstanding debts of the firm should be paid by the parties, in equal shares. This made the debts the same as joint debts. One paying the debts in whole, would be entitled to contribution from the other.

¶3If the defendant could have shown, that the debts paid by the plaintiff were paid out of the partnership funds, it would have constituted a good defence: but he was not able to do so. The plaintiff proved the payment after the award, of outstanding debts of the firm, and in the absence of proof to the contrary, the legal presumption was, that it was out of his own funds: and he was entitled to, and did recover a moiety. These views dispose of the grounds for a nonsuit. Those taken for a new trial were abandoned.

¶4The motions are dismissed.

Wardlaw, Glover and Munro, JJ., concurred.

¶5Motion dismissed.

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