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Opinion of the Court.

insolvent debtors to make an assignment of their property for the benefit of creditors. Cunningham v. Norton, 125 U. S. 77, 81. It establishes a complete system for the administration of the estates of insolvent debtors conveyed for the benefit of creditors; and the mere fact that it does not, in terms, modify article 3460 of the Revised Statutes, or the section of the same purport in the act of 1846, will not justify the courts in excepting from its operation the cases of debtors constituting a limited partnership, and including within its provisions, debtors constituting a general partnership. The special object of its third section was to open the way for the discharge of insolvent persons from their debts. Creditors who would not consent to their discharge were left to stand upon their rights, and take the chance of collecting their debts in full, if the debtor got upon his feet, and was fortunate enough to acquire other property. The statute is remedial in its character and should be liberally construed so as to give effect to the legislative will. And while it is true that repeals by implication are not favored by the courts, it is settled that, without express words of repeal, a previous statute will be held to be modified by a subsequent one, if the latter was plainly intended to cover the whole subject embraced by both, and to prescribe the only rules in respect to that subject that are to govern. United States v. Tynen, 11 Wall. 88, 95; Cook County National Bank v. United States, 107 U. S. 445, 451. We are of opinion, therefore, that in so far as article 3460 forbids a limited partnership, when it is insolvent or contemplates insolvency, from making an assignment of its property for the benefit only of such creditors as will accept their proportional share of the proceeds of the effects assigned, and discharge their claims-the share received being sufficient to pay one-third of the debts of the consenting creditors-it is modified by the act of 1879, as amended by that of 1883.

2. If in error upon this point, the defendants contend that Tuffly had no authority in his own name to execute an assignment of the firm's property for the benefit of creditors; it not appearing that Mrs. McLin was absent, or incapable of acting in the matter, and the assignment being out of the common

course.

Opinion of the Court.

While there is some conflict in the adjudged cases as to the circumstances under which one partner may assign the entire effects of his firm for the benefit of creditors, the Supreme Court of Texas, in Graves v. Hall, 32 Texas, 665, sustained the authority of one partner to make, in good faith, in the name of his firm, an assignment of the partnership property for the benefit of creditors. Besides, under the law of that State, in the case of limited partnerships, the general partners only are authorized to transact business and sign for the partnership, and bind the same, and suits in relation to the business of the partnership may be brought and conducted by and against the general partners, in the same manner as if there were no special partners. Rev. Stats. Texas, §§ 3444,

3445.

3. It is also contended that the assignment does not purport to convey the firm property or the individual property of Mrs. McLin, and was, for that reason, void under the decisions in Donoho v. Fish, 58 Texas, 164, and Coffin v. Douglass, 61 Texas, 406. In those cases it was held that an assignment by partners which did not purport to pass title to all the property owned by the partnership, and by the members thereof in their separate rights, and not exempted from forced sale, could not be sustained as a valid assignment under the act of March 24, 1879, and would interpose no obstacle to creditors collecting their debts by the usual process.

We do not assent to the defendants' interpretation of the assignment. It is inaptly expressed, but was intended to convey, and does convey, to the assignee all of the effects of the firm of "W. T. Tuffly," as well as the individual property of W. T. Tuffly. There was, it is true, proof tending to show that Mrs. McLin had individual property not exempt from execution, which was not embraced in the assignment. But the cases of Donoho v. Fish and Coffin v. Douglass, were not cases of limited partnerships, and do not decide that an assignment under the act of 1879 must embrace the individual property of a special partner. The statute authorizing the formation of limited partnerships exempts a special partner from liability for the debts of the partnership beyond the fund contributed

Opinion of the Court.

by him to the capital. The assignment in question covers the interest of Mrs. McLin as special partner, and need not have conveyed her individual property, which could not have been taken for the debts of the firm.

4. It is contended that an unlawful preference was given by the assignment in this: That Mrs. McLin was named in the schedule attached to the assignment as a creditor to the extent of $7798 for borrowed money. This, it is claimed, makes the assignment void under the provision that "in case of the insolvency or bankruptcy of the partnership, no special partner shall, under any circumstances, be allowed to claim as creditor until the claims of all other creditors of the parties shall be satisfied." Texas Civil Statutes, Art. 3463. We are of opinion that a deed of assignment, under the Texas statute, is not void because the verified schedule annexed to it may embrace a debt that cannot be paid ratably with the claims of other creditors. In Fant v. Elsbury, 68 Texas, 1, 8, 6, it was held that an assignment which on its face preferred some creditors over others, in violation of the 18th section of the act of 1879, was not, therefore, void. The court said: "By the express terms of that section the attempted preference and not the assignment is void. The estate is still administered under the act, and is distributed among all the creditors in proportion to their respective claims, notwithstanding the attempted preference." Again: "All that is necessary is, that the assignment be made for the benefit of creditors by an insolvent, or one contemplating insolvency, and the statute dictates everything requisite to be performed in order that the property conveyed may be distributed according to its own provisions, whether the assignor has so requested or not. Should the assignor prescribe a course to be pursued by the trustees different from that directed by the statute, his wishes would not be respected." See, also, McCart v. Maddox, 68 Texas, 456, to the same general effect.

5. It is contended that the publication of the notice of the formation of the partnership between Tuffly and Mrs. McLin was so defective that the partnership did not come into legal existence as a limited partnership. The certificate of partner

VOL. CXXXIV-15

Opinion of the Court.

ship contained, substantially, all that was required by article 3445. It was duly verified by the general partner and was duly registered in the proper office. The required certificate having been made, acknowledged, filed and recorded, and the required affidavit having been filed, the limited partnership was, under article 3449, to be deemed as formed. But article 3450 requires that the partners shall publish the terms of the partnership or registry in such newspaper as shall be designated by the clerk in whose office the registry shall be made, and if such publication be not made, the partnership shall be deemed general, Now, the point is made that the "terms" of the partnership were not set forth in the newspaper notice, and, consequently, the partnership was to be deemed general, in which event no valid assignment could be made, unless Mrs. McLin joined in it with Tuffly.

Precisely what the statute means by the "terms" of the partnership is not clear. The notice did state that W. T. Tuffly was the general partner, and Mrs. McLin the special partner, and that the latter had contributed to the common stock the sum of $6419.36. And it disclosed the fact that the certificate of the partnership had been executed and recorded. Without deciding whether the notice sufficiently disclosed the terms of the partnership, it is clear that the legal existence of the partnership did not depend upon the notice or its contents. The only effect of the failure to make the required publication was that "the partnership shall be deemed general." But that is immaterial in view of the finding of the jury in respect to certain facts, constituting an estoppel against the defendants, and which were submitted to them by the instructions. To these facts, and the instructions relating to them, we will next refer.

6. The jury were instructed: "If you shall find from the evidence that the limited partnership as stated and claimed by plaintiff was recognized as such in its inception by the three attaching creditors, defendants herein, and likewise during its existence was dealt with and credited as such by them, as well as sued therefor and its property attached as such after its assignment, and that its other creditors also treated and dealt

Opinion of the Court.

with it, and accepted its assignment to plaintiff as such, and that Mrs. McLin, named therein as the special or limited partner, and W. T. Tuffly, named therein as the general partner, and whose name constituted the firm name, always treated it as a special or limited partnership, and that Mrs. McLin loaned it money as claimed, and subsequently sued the plaintiff as its assignee therefor, then and in such case you likewise may deem the same a limited partnership and regard the assignment to plaintiff as valid.

"If you shall also find that the same was made at a time when the 'W. T. Tuffly' paper was maturing faster than it could be met in the ordinary and usual course of business, and that such assignment was made in good faith in contemplation of insolvency; and if you shall further find that the defendant Tracy, as United States marshal, seized the property so assigned, under and by virtue of the attachments of the three attachment creditors who have made themselves defendants herein, then you will find for the plaintiff herein as against defendant Tracy and the sureties on his official bond and the three firms of attaching creditors for the value of the goods as they were at the time and place of their seizure under such writs of attachment, such value to be ascertained from all the facts detailed in evidence before you.

"But if you shall otherwise find as to the facts constituting the rights of the parties as herein before set forth, then and in such case your verdict will be for the defendants."

According to the bills of exceptions there was evidence tending to prove all the facts stated in these instructions. The attaching creditors, with other creditors, described them in the release executed by them at about the time of the formation of the limited partnership as constituting a limited partnership, in which W. T. Tuffly was the general, and Mrs. McLin the special, partner. If the attaching creditors thus recognized and dealt with W. T. Tuffly and Mrs. McLin as a limited partnership, they are estopped from insisting that there was no such partnership, or that the assignment was not valid as an assignment by a limited partnership. They cannot be permitted thereafter to raise the objection that the terms of

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