A Bitter Family Feud Over Stolen Farm Proceeds
A Walla Walla father brings a lawsuit against his son, alleging the younger man embezzled partnership funds and property proceeds.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
A suit was instituted in the superior court yesterday by J. V. Lewis against George C. Lewis and his wife to set aside a deed made by the latter to his wife several days ago, conveying a piece of farm property near Walla Walla. The complaint alleges that the property in question was owned by a co-partnership consisting of J. V. Lewis and his son. When the land was purchased, young Lewis was appointed manager of the firm and he was placed in full charge of the business. He farmed it a short time and then leased it to George Lambdin for three years at a rental of $250 per year. The elder Lewis alleges that his son has collected the money, and together with $1,200 he received from the sale of cattle, appropriated it to his own use. The elder Lewis now asks that his son render an account of his management of the business of the partnership and that the deed be set aside.
“The complaint alleges that the property in question was owned by a co-partnership consisting of J. V. Lewis and his son.”
Family-run partnerships remain a common source of complex litigation in rural economies today. The tension between trust in family management and the formal accounting requirements of a business entity has not changed in over a century.
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