Salinas v. Rafati

In Salinas v. Rafati, 948 S.W.2d 286, 40 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 753 (Tex. 1997), three radiologists had established a professional partnership. When one of the radiologists elected to leave the partnership due to internal strife, a dispute arose over the value of his share of the partnership. The departing radiologist wanted to compute the value of his share of the partnership using a formula including goodwill. The Texas Supreme Court noted that "the value brought by the departing radiologist and attributed to the partnership was largely based on his talents and abilities . . . and his ability to generate income in the future." Id. at 290. That court continued by holding that "to the extent that the valuation of the dissolved partnership was based on the goodwill attributable to the personal skills and talents of the former partners, the trial court improperly took into account intangibles that were not partnership assets." Id.