Teck Seing & Co. v. Chung Cang

Summary

This landmark 1923 case involved determining whether 'Teck Seing & Co., Ltd.' constituted a general partnership for insolvency purposes. Despite the firm name not containing any partner's name as required by the Code of Commerce, the Supreme Court held it was a general partnership since it met other legal requirements including proper execution of a public document and commercial registry registration. The Court emphasized that defective compliance with formal requirements should not benefit the partners at the expense of creditors who dealt with them in good faith. The decision established the principle that the legal intention of parties controls in determining partnership existence, and that formal defects cannot shield partners from liability to innocent third parties. The partners were held liable in solidum under partnership and insolvency laws.