Johnson v. Davidson

This is an appeal from a judgment declaring that a certain parcel of real property situate in the city and county of San Francisco was held by W. W. Davidson at the time of his death for the joint benefit of himself and the plaintiff, each owning an undivided one-half interest therein.

The defendants and appellants are the sons of the deceased, one of them being the administrator of the estate. It is their contention that the contract with Davidson relied upon by the plaintiff to establish her claim to the said undivided interest constituted a partnership to practice law; and that since the plaintiff was not an attorney at law the contract was contrary to public policy and void, hence affording no foundation for her claim. They also contend that the court erred in refusing to admit certain evidence.

W. W. Davidson for more than twenty years preceding his death was a duly admitted practicing attorney, devoting his attention principally to divorce litigation. From January, 1904, to January, 1913, he was a teacher in one of the *Page 253 public night schools of San Francisco. He had for many years been addicted to the excessive use of intoxicating liquors, which habit manifested itself periodically, and at such times the volume of his law business would be seriously diminished. In January, 1904, he was enjoying one of these lapses, which had lasted for about three months, during which time he had not visited his office, and had incurred debts amounting to about two thousand dollars. At this time he encountered the plaintiff. She had been one of his pupils in the public school, and in the conversation which ensued she informed Davidson that she had been following the occupation of nurse, but was at that time disengaged, and she asked him if he could help her get employment. He replied that he needed a clerk in his office. To her objection that she knew nothing of stenography or typewriting or the business of a law office he insisted that she could learn the duties of the position he offered her. Upon this phase of the case the plaintiff herself testified as follows: "We went down to the office. We talked about the work, and he told me what it was, what kind of work he did, and his price for it. We talked a lot about his desire to get away from drink. I told him about the experience I had had in nursing and about how I had taken care of men who had been addicted to drink, and that I thought if he would try we could soon get him to quit drinking, and he said if I could do that it would be a great thing for him. He gave me the keys to the office that night and told me to come the following morning, and to do any service in the morning that he would tell me, and that he would try to tell me what kind of work to do and what to do as my services in the office; I was to do anything that he wanted me to do and to help him break away from drink. As compensation for that I was to have one-eighth, after the expenses of the office were paid, of all the income that came in from the office. I was to keep the office open evenings while he was at school where he was a teacher, and the salary from the school was to be included in the money taken in at the office."