93 Me. 241 | Me. | 1899
The plaintiff and the defendant’s intestate were business partners. The defendant was appointed administrator of his intestate’s estate in February, 1889, and he gave the usual notice of his appointment. In the next month, March, 1889, the plaintiff was qualified and authorized as surviving partner to administer the partnership estate and affairs. He did not close that administration and present his final account for allowance until March, 1896. This account, as finally allowed in November, 1896, showed the partnership to be indebted to him in the sum of $1015.81. He brought an action at law for one-half this sum, or $507.90, against the defendant, but the court held the action was barred by the statute of limitations in favor of executors and administrators. See Bennett v. Bennett, 92 Maine, 80.
He now brings this bill in equity to obtain the relief authorized by R. S., c. 87, § 19, viz: “If the supreme judicial court, upon a bill in equity filed by a creditor whose claim has not been prosecuted within the time limited by the preceding sections, is of opinion that justice and equity require it, and that such creditor is not chargeable with culpable neglect in not prosecuting his claim within the time so limited, it may give him judgment for the amount of his claim against the estate of the deceased person; but such judgment shall not affect any payment or distribution made before the filing of such bill.”
This statute, first enacted in Maine in 1883, is almost a verbatim copy of the Massachusetts statute enacted in 1861, the language of which had several times received a judicial interpretation from the court of that state before it was adopted in this state in 1883. It is to be presumed that, in adopting the language thus interpreted, the legislature used it in the sense already judicially declared to. be its true sense and meaning. Rutland v. Mendon, 1 Pick. 154; Purrington v. Dunning, 11 Maine, 174.
The Massachusetts court held speed of administration and early discharge of the executor and administrator from liability to suit to be the worthy purpose of the statute of limitations in their favor,
Recurring now to the evidence in the case before us, we find that the partnership estate was a small one, consisting of real estate valued at $2225, and goods and chattels valued at $117.65. The liabilities of the partnership over its assets turned out to be only $1015.81. Though the plaintiff was qualified as surviving partner in March, 1889, he does not appear to have taken any steps to sell the real estate till May, 1890. He does not appear to have obtained any license until January 20, 1892, and even then he made no sale under it. He presented no account for allowance until July, 1893, and only after two citations therefor at the instance of the administrator. He did not present his final account till March, 1896. Thus he protracted for seven years or more the administration of a partnership estate where the 'assets were mainly real estate and less than $3000, and the total liabilities not over $4000. While he says he did the best he could and tried to close up the estate by negotiations, etc., he utterly fails to point out any unusual difficulty. No litigation, nor even dispute, is shown between the partnership and its creditors or debtors. No obstacles were put in his way by the administrator or heirs of the deceased partner. On the contrary they were anxious for him to proceed more rapidly. The administrator twice cited him to present accounts for settlement, and with the heirs signed an agreement for the conveyance of the partnership real estate by him.
We are constrained to believe fully, notwithstanding the finding
Decree below reversed.
Bill dismissed with costs.