Munce v. Munce, 9747

• Decision Date: 28 May 1959
• Docket Number: No. 9747,9747
• Citation: 96 N.W.2d 661,77 S.D. 594
• Parties: Mrs. Fred H. (Opal) MUNCE, Special Administratrix of the Estate of Fred H. Munce, Deceased, and Mrs. Fred H. (Opal) Munce, Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. Charles P. MUNCE and William J. Munce, Defendants and Respondents.
• Court: South Dakota Supreme Court

Page 661

96 N.W.2d 661

77 S.D. 594

Mrs. Fred H. (Opal) MUNCE, Special Administratrix of the Estate of Fred H. Munce, Deceased, and Mrs. Fred H. (Opal) Munce, Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. Charles P. MUNCE and William J. Munce, Defendants and Respondents.

No. 9747.

Supreme Court of South Dakota.

May 28, 1959.

Rehearing Denied Aug. 3, 1959.

Mundt & Mundt, Sioux Falls, for plaintiffs and appellants.

Blaine Simons, Sioux Falls, for defendants and respondents.

ROBERTS, Judge.

Plaintiff appeals from a judgment for the defendants.

Plaintiff, as special administratrix of the estate of her deceased husband, Fred H. Munce, and as the sole heir of her husband, brought this action to establish the existence of a partnership from February 25, 1911, to November 26, 1956, between her husband and his brothers, William and Charles, and for an accounting and division of assets and determination of adverse claims.

The three brothers entered into a partnership in 1911 for the operation of a dray and storage business in Sioux Falls. It is admitted that the partnership continued until January 2, 1933. The court among others made the following findings: '* * * that on January 2, 1933, the said Fred H. Munce, by warranty deed, conveyed to said William J. Munce and Charles P. Munce all of his interest in certain real property owned by said partnership (description) * * * and that on said January 2, 1933, the said Fred H. Munce also, by bill of sale, transferred to said William J. Munce all of his interest in the assets of the said partnership of Munce Bros.; that thereafter the said Fred H. Munce was employed by said William J. Munce and Charles P. Munce up until the time of his death, and received pay therefor * * *. That Caroline Munce, mother of said William J. Munce, Charles P. Munce, and Fred H. Munce, died in 1946; that at the time of her death she owned, subject to mortgage, certain real estate described as Lot Three (3), Block Fifty-eight (58), Shaw's Addition to Sioux Falls, Minnehaha County, South Dakota; that her estate was not probated; that all of the heirs of said Caroline Munce, including said Fred H. Munce, conveyed their interest in said real property to said William J. Munce and Charles P. Munce, by warranty deeds; that said Opal Munce joined in such conveyance. * * * that said conveyances were voluntary and there was no writing in said instruments of conveyance creating a trust for the benefit of anyone. That the said Fred H. Munce died on November 26, 1956; that during the period between January 2, 1933 and November 26, 1956, the said Fred H. Munce brought no action in any court for the purpose of regaining title to any of the property, real or personal, conveyed by him to said defendants, or for any purpose; * * *. That no agreement was entered into in writing or otherwise between said Fred H. Munce and said defendants that said real and personal property would be reconveyed by said defendants to Fred H. Munce after he obtained a divorce from his wife, Pearl Munce; that said Fred H. Munce was divorced from Pearl Munce in 1936; that if there were such an agreement it was for the purpose of defrauding said Pearl Munce; that said Opal Munce is not a creditor of the estate of said Fred H. Munce; that there was no agreement between the said Fred H. Munce and said defendants, orally or in writing, that said real and personal property would be reconveyed to said Fred H. Munce by said defendants.'

The numerous errors assigned present the following contentions: (1) the findings of fact are not sufficiently supported by credible evidence; (2) the court erred in granting motion to strike the second cause of action based upon misrepresentation and fraud of the defendants; (3) the plaintiff was entitled to an accounting and to the production of the partnership records and copies of income tax returns; and (4) the refusal of the court to permit introduction of further testimony after the parties had rested was not warranted.

A partnership as defined by statute is an association of two or more persons to carry on as co-owners a business for profit. SDC 49.0201. Since there is no arbitrary test for determining the existence of a partnership, each case must be governed by its own peculiar facts and the existence of the relationship is a question for the trier of fact except in a case where the evidence is conclusive. The testimony and exhibits in the record before us did not impel a holding that Fred H. Munce and his brothers were partners after January 2, 1933 and to the time of his death. The transfers on that date by decedent of his interest in the partnership property are not questioned. Counsel for the plaintiff assert that the court should have tested the credibility of the defendants by their self-interest and weighing their testimony against facts and circumstances in evidence should have concluded that they testified falsely. Plaintiff offered in evidence the record of real estate mortgages executed by the mother, Caroline Munce, and dated February 25, 1911, to secure the payment of notes totaling the approximate sum of the purchase price of equipment purchased by the brothers for the purpose of carrying on the partnership business. Plaintiff asserts that the mother borrowed the money to finance the partnership enterprise. This the defendants emphatically denied. Counsel maintain that where witnesses swear falsely as to a fact, their entire testimony should be disregarded and that applying this rule and rejecting the testimony of the defendants the court should have inferred that defendants agreed to reconvey to their brother his one-third interest after he obtained a divorce from his first wife. In Smith v. Gasper, 56 S.D. 592, 230 N.W....