Kessler v. Antinora case brief

Kessler v. Antinora case brief summary
653 A.2d 579 (1995)

CASE SYNOPSIS

Defendant labor contributing joint venturer sought a review of an order of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Passaic County, which entered a summary judgment for plaintiff money contributing joint venturer in plaintiff's suit to recover his contributed capital to the joint venture.

CASE FACTS
Plaintiff money contributing joint venturer and defendant labor contributing joint venturer entered into a joint venture for the construction and sale of a house. When the house was sold at a loss, plaintiff filed a suit against defendant to recover his contributed capital. The lower court granted plaintiff's motion for summary judgment; however, the court reversed and remanded the order of the lower court.

DISCUSSION

• The court held that the general rule of partnership law under N.J. Stat. Ann. § 42: 1-18(a), which provided that the parties would split the losses according to their share in the profits was inapplicable to plaintiff and defendant's joint venture agreement. 
• The court further held that where one party to the joint venture agreement contributed money and the other labor, the other could not recover his loss from the other joint venturer.

CONCLUSION
The court reversed and remanded an order of the lower court, which entered a summary judgment for plaintiff money contributing joint venturer in plaintiff's suit against defendant labor contributing joint venturer to recover his contributed capital to the joint venture. The terms of the joint venture agreement did not provide that the parties could recover his contributed capital from the other joint venturer.


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