Dawson v. White & Case

672 N.E.2d 589 (1996)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
D
From our private database of 46,200+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Dawson v. White & Case

New York Court of Appeals
672 N.E.2d 589 (1996)

RW

Facts

New partners entering the White & Case law firm (firm) (defendant) paid nothing to share in the firm’s preexisting goodwill. Departing partners received no payment for their shares in that goodwill. The firm’s financial statements did not list goodwill as an asset. The firm’s partnership agreement provided that, upon a partner’s withdrawal from the firm, goodwill would be excluded from any amounts charged against or credited to the former partner’s account. Evan Dawson (plaintiff), one of the firm’s lawyers, fell out with his partners. The partners expelled Dawson by dissolving the firm and immediately reconstituting it without Dawson’s participation. Dawson successfully sued the firm for wrongful termination. In awarding damages, the trial court included an allocation for Dawson’s share of the firm’s goodwill. After an intermediate appellate court affirmed the trial court’s judgment, the firm appealed to the New York Court of Appeals.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Ciparick, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 791,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 791,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,200 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 791,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,200 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Business Associations

Key Terms