Norris v. Besel
Wyoming Supreme Court
442 P.3d 60 (2019)
- Written by Haley Gintis, JD
Facts
Mr. Besel (defendant) started the company Leonard’s Home Improvement (Leonard’s). Besel’s wife, Mrs. Besel (defendant) performed certain tasks to help Mr. Besel with Leonard’s. Mrs. Besel’s tasks included advertising on Facebook, providing information to potential customers, and typing up invoices and contract bids. However, Mr. and Mrs. Besel made no agreement concerning how Leonard’s profits would be divided and, although the couple filed joint tax returns, Leonard’s was listed as Mr. Besel’s sole proprietorship. Therefore, no partnership tax return was filed. The Norrises (plaintiffs) filed a suit against the Besels after hiring Leonard’s for a remodel. As part of the suit, the Norrises argued that Leonard’s was a partnership between Mr. and Mrs. Besel. Mrs. Besel denied that she had an ownership interest in Leonard’s and moved for summary judgment. The district court granted Mrs. Besel’s motion for summary judgment and dismissed her from the suit with prejudice. The district court’s grant of summary judgment was appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Boomgaarden, J.)
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