PEH098

PEH098

Two brothers jointly operated a business. One of them passed away. On his deathbed, he entrusted the protection of his underage children to the surviving brother. However, the surviving brother kept the orphans in the dark about the fact that the partnership had not been properly dissolved after their father's death but continued. Suddenly, he informed them that only their real estate remained, and nothing else. He was willing to pay them 2000 Reales if they provided him with a general receipt before a non-Jewish court. Due to their lack of business knowledge, the orphans complied, only realizing later that they had been deceived. They insisted that their uncle be held accountable for the joint business because no formal settlement had occurred. The uncle, however, relied on the receipt. Moses Gomez de Mesquita ruled that in a place where non-Jewish court documents were not recognized, the receipt was invalid; otherwise, it was valid. He emphasized that the uncle would be held accountable for deceiving the orphans and stealing their money, as the Holy One would demand it. The ruling was based on Proverbs 22:22-23.

1

98

1735-11-06

1736-03-13

Gomez

Gomez de Mesquita, Moses

AthiasD

Athias, David Israel