Betjemann v Betjemann: CA 1895

A father and his two sons had carried on the business as partners from 1856 to 1886; the father died in 1886 but the sons continued the business until 1893 when one of the sons died. The deceased son’s executor brought an action against the surviving partner for an account of the partnership dealings from 1886. The surviving partner claimed that the accounts of the old partnership should be taken from 1856.
Held: The surviving son was entitled to an order for the accounts to be taken against the deceased son’s executor with effect from 1856, on the basis that the accounts of the original firm had been carried on into the new firm without interruption or settlement.
Rigby LJ said: ‘What is the duty of a man to inquire? To whom does he owe that duty? Certainly not to the person who had committed the concealed fraud.’

Judges:

Rigby, Lindley LJJ

Citations:

[1895] 2 Ch 474

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

CitedHayward v Zurich Insurance Company Plc SC 27-Jul-2016
The claimant had won a personal injury case and the matter had been settled with a substantial payout by the appellant insurance company. The company now said that the claimant had grossly exaggerated his injury, and indeed wasfiully recovered at . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Torts – Other, Company

Updated: 06 May 2022; Ref: scu.588902