107 Misc. 316 | N.Y. Sur. Ct. | 1919
The “ decedent ” bequeathed the good will of his business, together with the apparatus used in connection therewith, to his two assistants, and the transfer tax appraiser valued the good will at $38,-874.12. The executors contend that the business had no good will which survived the ‘ ‘ decedent ’ ’ and have appealed from the order entered on the appraiser’s report.
The decedent was a medical doctor, but he specialized in roentgenology, or the taking of X-ray pictures as an aid to physicians in determining the nature and extent of the disease from which their patients suffered. He was one of the pioneers in the use of X-ray apparatus in the diagnosis of diseases, and invented and perfected many improvements on the mechanical appliances and chemical processes by which such pictures are taken. He acquired great proficiency in the art of taking X-ray pictures; he lectured on the subject before many medical societies and scientific bodies, and became known to the medical profession of this city and the adjacent country as an expert of great knowledge and skill. He appealed for the patronage of the medical profession and not for that of the public generally. Doctors sent their patients to Mm for the purpose of having X-ray pictures taken of
He had two assistants, but no partner. One of these assistants was Dr. Imboden, a medical doctor. The other was not a physician, but he had acquired considerable skill in connection with the taking of X-ray pictures. Dr. Imboden leased the office that had been used and occupied by the decedent, but he removed the decedent’s name from the door and substituted his own name.
The question whether the good will of the practice and business of a man who has attained eminence in his profession has, upon his death, a value that is capable of ascertainment or computation, does not seem to have been decided in the reported cases. Lord Eldon’s definition of good will (which has been so extensively quoted) does not seem to have much application to a business which is entirely personal and the result of a reputation derived from the possession of superior knowledge. Judge Story’s comprehensive definition in his work on Partnership (§99) might be considered to include as an element of good will any advantage accruing to the new occupier of premises that had been used by a deceased man of considerable reputation. Judge Vann’s definition (People ex rel. Johnson Co. v. Roberts, 159 N. Y. 83) would seem to require the combination of two elements—“ continuing an established business in its old place, and of continuing it under the old style or name.” The second element is lacking in the matter under consideration, for the business was conducted under a new name.
The extensive and lucrative business transacted by the decedent was the result of his reputation for great skill in taking X-ray pictures, and as this skill and
The skill and knowledge which Dr. Imboden acquired during the years of his association with the decedent, and which induced physicians to send their patients to him, w-ere entirely personal to him, and were not transferred to him by the decedent as part of the good will of the business. The reputation which the decedent had acquired was personal to him, and it wTas not due to the place where he maintained his office or to any trade mark or trade name.
It has been held that a doctor may sell the good will of his business and that the court will.recognize the right of the purchaser to such good will (Hoyt v. Holly, 39 Conn. 326; Dwight v. Hamilton, 113 Mass. 175; Townsend v. Hurst, 37 Miss. 679; Davis v. Mason, 5 T. R. 118; Mallan v. May, 11 M. & W. 652); but there seems to be a distinction between the business sold by a doctor during his lifetime and the value of that business after his death. If sold during his lifetime, he could introduce the purchaser to Ms
It seems to me that the criterion by which it may be determined whether the business of the decedent had a good will capable of being transferred by his will is:
It is not at all improbable that if the members of the medical profession kneAV that the decedent’s laboratory was equipped with superior apparatus, and that
It seems to me, therefore, that as the profitable business conducted by the decedent was the result of his superior knowledge and skill, and that the business was not conducted under his name after his death, there is no good will of the business which is subject to a transfer tax.
The appraiser’s report will therefore be remitted to him for the purpose of excluding the good will as an element of value.
Appraiser’s report remitted.