Howlett v. Hall
Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
Appeal by the plaintiff, A. Ames Howlett, from an order of the Supreme Court, made at the Hew'York Special Term and entered in the office of the clerk of the county, of Hew York on the 12th day of October, 1900, denying his motion for a discovery and inspection of books in the defendant’s possession.
Read the full summary
Appeal by the plaintiff, A. Ames Howlett, from an order of the Supreme Court, made at the Hew'York Special Term and entered in the office of the clerk of the county, of Hew York on the 12th day of October, 1900, denying his motion for a discovery and inspection of books in the defendant’s possession. The relief sought in this action is the cancellation of a note for $3,200 given by the plaintiff, as alleged, under the defendant’s wrongful representation that, in the course of the partnership, the plaintiff had overdrawn his account about $6,400. The complaint avers that there was no such…
1Opinion of the Court
O’Brien, J.:
The right of a partner to a disclosure of partnership books rests upon entirely different principles than the rights of third persons to have a disclosure, it being usual almost as matter of course to grant such examination and inspection to a partner. (Kelly v. Eckford, 5 Paige, 548; Stébbins v. Harmon, 17 Hun, 445.) And it is only where it can be seen that the application is made in bad faith that he will be refused the privilege. The fact that the partnership is dissolved does not change the rule, the courts recognizing the right of a former partner to have access to the books…
2Cases cited2 opinions
- Kelly & Frazier v. EckfordNew York Court of Chancery · 1836
- Bearns v. BurrasNew York Supreme Court · 1895
3Cited by3 opinions
- Sanderson v. CookeNew York Court of Appeals · 1931
- Cohn v. HesselAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 1904
- Gow v. WardAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 1911