Shallenberger

In this action for dissolution of an alleged oral partnership or, in the event none was found, for breach of an agreement to enter into a partnership, plaintiff appeals from a judgment after a non jury trial that he take nothing by his complaint.

Plaintiff and defendant first met in college in 1950. There they also met David Beatty whose father owned the Beatty Scaffolding Company. In the fall of 1956 the three young men discussed the establishment of a Beatty distributorship in the Monterey area, but nothing materialized. In July or August of 1958 defendant, having talked to Beatty about the possibility of a distributorship in Sacramento, telephoned plaintiff to see if the latter would be interested in discussing it further. There followed two or three conversations about the Sacramento distributorship, which defendant was considering as an investment and which he wanted plaintiff to operate for him. Apparently defendant then made further inquiries of young Beatty and was dissuaded by the latter from entering the Sacramento area.

The discussions continued with reference to a possible distributorship in San Jose. It is noteworthy that when plaintiff first indicated that he was…