Capen v. Barrows
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Covenant on the following indenture of copartnership, executed by the plaintiff and defendant and John D. Clapp: • “Articles of copartnership, made and concluded this 1st of January, A. D. 1848, by and between Oliver Capen, John D. Clapp and Thomas Barrows, Jr. “ 1st. The said parties agree to form a copartnership, the style of which shall be Capen & Co., for the purpose of transacting a general commission business in Boston, for the buying and selling of coal, hay, and any…
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Covenant on the following indenture of copartnership, executed by the plaintiff and defendant and John D. Clapp: • “Articles of copartnership, made and concluded this 1st of January, A. D. 1848, by and between Oliver Capen, John D. Clapp and Thomas Barrows, Jr. “ 1st. The said parties agree to form a copartnership, the style of which shall be Capen & Co., for the purpose of transacting a general commission business in Boston, for the buying and selling of coal, hay, and any other merchandise which may be thought advisable by the said parties; their counting room to be located on Packard’s…
1Opinion of the CourtMetcalf, J.
It is the opinion of the court, that the defendant's covenants, declared on in this case, were made with the plaintiff and Clapp jointly and not severally, and therefore that if an action at law can be maintained on those covenants, it must be an action by the plaintiff and Clapp. It is a settled rale of construction, that when the legal interest in a covenant and in the cause of action thereon is joint, the covenant is joint, although it may, in its terms, be several or joint and several. The decisions on this subject are numerous. But instead of discussing them in detail, we prefer to state…
2Cases cited3 opinions
- The Propeller Genesee Chief v. FitzhughSupreme Court of the United States · 1852
- Dunham v. GillisMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1812
- Society of Chaplin v. CanadaSupreme Court of Connecticut · 1830