Cupps v. Upton

This is an appeal from a judgment in an action for an accounting. The plaintiff, L.D. Upton, and the defendant, Roger Cupps, formed a partnership to conduct a coal mining operation. After the mining was completed, the parties could not agree on the amounts due each partner. The trial court held that Cupps owed Upton $51,000.

The facts of the case are sharply in dispute. The parties kept very informal records. There was no written partnership agreement. Cupps carried most of the records of the business in his briefcase. Cupps and Upton both concede that they agreed to divide the profits evenly.

I…