Consaul v. Cummings

Background

This case involves two lawyers who formed a special partnership to prosecute certain Court of Claims cases on a contingency basis, agreeing that fees would be divided in solido. One partner, Edmonds, was later adjudged a lunatic and a committee (Cummings) was appointed for him. The surviving partner, Moyers, continued the litigation, paid expenses, and later claimed extra compensation for work done after the firm’s effective dissolution. The estate of Edmonds sought an accounting and its share of the fees.

Reasoning

The Court considered whether a surviving partner in this type of agreement can recover extra pay for winding up the business. It explained the general rule: survivors are not ordinarily entitled to extra compensation for duties implied by the partnership, though narrow exceptions exist (for example, with the personal representative’s consent, voluntary risk-taking with profits, or where continuation is necessary to realize assets). Here the special contract limited compensation to success-based, in-solido fees, and Moyers had contracted to prosecute the claims. The Court held he did only what his agreement required and was not entitled to additional pay. The Court also approved charging Moyers interest from the date the accounting suit was filed because his delay and failure to produce proper books contributed to the accounting delay.

Real world impact

The ruling means surviving lawyers who continue work under a limited contingency agreement cannot demand extra compensation beyond the contract. Estates of absent partners retain their contract rights to a share of collected fees. Timely accounting suits can earn interest from filing when delay is caused by the surviving partner’s recordkeeping or resistance.