The plaintiff accountant joined the defendant accounting firm under an unwritten resource-sharing or partnership arrangement.
After the relationship broke down, the plaintiff sued for unpaid compensation and the return of a capital contribution, while the defendants counterclaimed for misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty, and defamation.
The court found an implied agreement for compensation based on the parties' conduct and awarded the plaintiff $71,223 for unpaid 2014 compensation plus the return of her $40,000 capital contribution.
However, the court also found that the plaintiff defamed the defendants by calling them 'crooks' to a client, awarding the defendants $30,000 on their counterclaim.