Old v Hodgkinson; Old v McInnes [2009] NSWSC 1160

New South Wales Supreme Court

CITATION : Old v Hodgkinson; Old v McInnes [2009] NSWSC 1160

HEARING DATE(S) : 14/08/08; 23/02/09; 24/02/09; 26/02/09 and on the papers

JUDGMENT DATE : 3 November 2009

JURISDICTION : Equity Division

JUDGMENT OF : Young JA

DECISION : Rulings as to how accounts should treat goodwill and costs of winding up.

CATCHWORDS : PARTNERSHIP [8]- Agreement in principle for partnership with additional partner- agreement never materialized- whether additional partner entitled to remuneration. PARTNERSHIP [37]- Winding up- series of partnerships- how goodwill to be treated- how costs of referee to settle accounts to be paid. - RESTITUTION [22]- Quantum meruit- where no contract but understanding between parties that a party will be reasonably remunerated for providing benefit to the other party- where partner in partnership at will received share of profits on basis that other partners thought he would pay for the goodwill of the former partnership under an anticipated contract- whether use of goodwill to produce income is benefit.

LEGISLATION CITED : Civil Procedure Act 2005, ss 56, 57, 58, 59, 60 Partnership Act 1892, s 40

Anaconda Nickel Ltd v Tarmoola Australia Pty Ltd (2000) 22 WAR 101 Aon Risk Services Australia Pty Ltd v Australian National University [2009] HCA 27; 82 ALJR 951 Atwood v Maude (1868) LR 3 Ch App 369 Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Atlantic 3 Financial (Aust) Pty Ltd [2004] QSC 133 Automatic Fire Sprinklers Pty Ltd v Watson [1946] HCA 25; 72 CLR 435 Brenner v First Artists' Management Pty Ltd [1993] 2 VR 221 Burns Philp Investments Pty Ltd v Dickens (No 2) (1993) 31 NSWLR 280 Clifton v Palumbo [1944] 2 All ER 497 Computer Machinery Co Ltd v Drescher [1983] 1 WLR 1379 First Church of Christ, Scientist, Brisbane v Ormlie Trading Pty Ltd [2003] QSC 351 Ford v Perpetual Trustees Victoria Limited [2009] NSWCA 186 Hamer v Giles (1879) 11 Ch D 942 Independent Grocers Co-Operative Ltd v Noble Lowndes Superannuation Consultants Ltd (1993) 60 SASR 525 Integrated Computer Services Pty Ltd v Digital Equipment Corp (Aust) Pty Ltd (1988) 5 BPR 11,110 CASES CITED : Meekin Enterprises v Gersbach (NSWSC, MH McLelland CJ in Eq, 6 August 1997, unreported) Moray v Lane (NSWSC, Allen J, 26 February 1993, unreported) Muschinski v Dodds [1985] HCA 78; 160 CLR 583 Najjar v Haines (1991) 25 NSWLR 224 Pavey & Matthews Pty Ltd v Paul [1987] HCA 5; 162 CLR 221 Pit v Cholmondeley (1754) 2 Ves Sen 565; 28 ER 360 Re Reiter Brothers Exploratory Drilling Pty Ltd (1994) 12 ACLC 430 Schreiber v Dinkel (1886) 54 LT 911 Sinclair v Rankin (No 2) (1908) 10 WAR 126 Symphony Group plc v Hodgson [1994] QB 179 Thompson v White (2006) 13 BPR 24,537 Tito v Waddell (No 2); Tito v Attorney-General [1977] Ch 106 Toyota Motor Corporation Australia Ltd v Ken Morgan Motors Pty Ltd [1994] 2 VR 106 Venetian Nominees Pty Ltd v Conlan (1998) 16 ACLC 1653 Yeoman's Row Management Ltd v Cobbe [2008] 1 WLR 1752