Gaskill v. Robbins

282 S.W.3d 306 (2009)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
G
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Gaskill v. Robbins

Kentucky Supreme Court
282 S.W.3d 306 (2009)

Facts

John Robbins (defendant) and Julie Gaskill (plaintiff), an oral surgeon, married. During the marriage, Robbins helped Gaskill set up her sole oral-surgery practice and performed some office work and errands for the practice. Gaskill brought in new patients, worked hard, and managed the practice wisely, resulting in a very successful practice. Gaskill later filed for divorce. There was no dispute that the practice was part of the marital estate, but Gaskill and Robbins disagreed on the value of the practice’s goodwill. Gaskill’s expert, Steve Wheeler, assigned a value of zero to the practice’s goodwill because Gaskill’s role in the practice was nonmarketable. Wheeler valued the practice at about $222,000. Robbins’s expert, Richard Callahan, estimated the value of the goodwill and included it in his estimate of the practice’s value, $670,000. The trial court found that Callahan’s estimate was more credible than Wheeler’s and valued the practice at about $670,000. Gaskill appealed, arguing that the trial court should not have included goodwill in the value of the practice. The court of appeals reversed on the goodwill issue, recognizing that some businesses do not have goodwill. Robbins appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Noble, 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 811,000 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 811,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 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 811,000 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
  • 46,300 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

Family Law

Key Terms