Estate of Peebles

In Estate of Peebles (1972) 27 Cal. App. 3d 163, the administrator of a deceased partner's estate argued that although the partnership dissolved upon her husband's death, her cause of action for an accounting did not accrue until after the winding up of the partnership affairs. The court disagreed, relying on the express language of Corporations Code section 15043, which provided that the right to an accounting "shall accrue to any partner or his or her legal representative . . . at the date of dissolution, . . ." ( Peebles, supra, at p. 166.) The court concluded "that Corporations Code section 15043 means what is says and that a cause of action for an accounting accrues at the death of a partner, . . . The right to maintain an action arises immediately, although the amount of the deceased partner's interest may not then be ascertainable." ( Id. at p. 169.) The court held that the administrator's action was time-barred since it was filed more than four years after the deceased partner's death. As a result, the administrator lost her right to sue for an accounting and lost any interest she may have had in the partnership assets.