A delicate legal proposition involving the jurisdiction of the! American Court over a co-partnership, in which the American partner: receives 60 per cent, of the profits and the British partner 40 per cent. the company being noted by H. Bf. Consulate-General, came. before Jurge M.D. Purdy on Thursday morning. L. 8. Yeh, -represented by} Mr. H. "D. Rodger, brought]
against Messrs. Petten, ickenzie & Ca. for Tls. 3,133.- which he alleged is due him former compradore of the company.
His ' agreement Provided for a 10 per cent, com mission on the nett profits, less $10,000, the manager's annual salary, fon the business transacted through the Shanghai office. He alleged, that he had not been paid' commis.
yns_between November 16, 1921, and February 1, 1927, at which time the company discontinued the agreement, which both parties had renewed after the first three years. Mr. F, J. Schuhl represented the! defendants.
In evidence it was brought out that Mr, Davivd Mackenzie, American, who lived in Kobe, by special arrangement received 60 per cent. of the profits, although he had invested no money. Mr. Donald Mackenzie, a British ce-partner, now on long leave, but residing in Shanghai, received 40 per cent, of the probs. The former Was _predent The Judge's Comment According to Mr. Schuhl the! British Consulate had noted the concern in its records. In view of this "he contended that the company and Mr. David Mackenaie could not be sued in the United States Court for China. Mr. Schuh also raised the point whether a co-
"American "and the other could be sued as an entity ther "Court. "Because of the British notation of the company, he then argued that the company must be sued in the British Court, and fon British Inw ensued. Mr. Lewis said that he would sue_n partncrship as Messrs. A and B and Inter force the partners to disclose their real names. There was no British registry of ce-partnerships, although Government did register limited Jicbility companies, Judge Purdy then asked him what the official attitude would be toward a firm composed of an Ame can, a Briton and a Swede, and Mr. Lewis replied that that difficult question to answer.
His Honour:—Perhaps you'would prefer to have Judge Grain answer Mr. Lewis (laughing):—I really would,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.