Jans

In this rather complex case, we conclude the trial court, operating in a murky area of law, applied an erroneous standard of law in determining the amount of contribution that must be paid by coguarantors of a business debt. (Jessup Farms v. Baldwin (1983) 33 Cal.3d 639, 650, fn. 7 [ 190 Cal.Rptr. 355 , 660 P.2d 813 ].) Because the relevant facts are undisputed, we apply the correct principles of equity to those facts and direct the trial court to enter a modified judgment.

Introductory Summary

As we will discuss in some detail below, the law of equitable contribution in California was developed primarily in cases decided from the late 1800’s through the 1930’s. The equitable principles established in those cases have remained unchanged to the present. Despite the stability of the underlying law, the question presented in this case has not been decided in any published opinion we have been able to discover. That question is: what is the appropriate contributory share among partners who are sureties of a partnership debt? In this part, we will give an overview of the relevant principles; we will give a fuller explanation of our conclusions in the discussion part,…