Business Law Flashcards
What are the essential elements of a partnership?
- Sharing of profits and losses
- Joint ownership of a business
- Equal right to be involved in the management of business
What are the similarities and differences between the entity and aggregate theories of partnerships?
Entity versus Aggregate Theory of Partnerships: Under the UPA, a partnership is treated as an entity for most purposes. (ex. Can be sued and can sue)
How does tax treatment work?
Tax treatment
-Pass-through entity
-Information return: only reports the income and losses, does not pay taxes
Partnership Formation
-Agreement to form a partnership formation: written, oral, or implied (statute of frauds applies)
-Articles of Partnership: governing document; each partner’s rights and responsibilities
-Duration of partnership
-Partnership by estoppel: non-partnerships hold themselves out as partners and a third party detrimentally relied on the misrepresentation
What rights do partners have?
-Management Rights: all partners have equal management rights; one vote per partner regardless of ownership interest; usually majority, but unanimous is required for nature of business decisions and outside ordinary course of business
-Interest in the Partnership: equal or per agreement
-Compensation: distribution of profits, not time
-Inspection of books
-Accounting of partnership assets or profits
-Property rights
What are the duties and liabilities of partners in a partnership?
-Fiduciary Duties: duty and loyalty, duty of care
-Authority of Partners: each partner is an agent of the partnership
-Liability of partners
-Joint liability of partners
-Joint and several liability of partners
What events may cause a partnership dissociation?
- By partners voluntary notice of an “express will to withdraw”
- By occurrence of event agreed to in a partnership agreement
- By unanimous vote of other partners under certain circumstances
- By order of court (or arbitrator) if partner is engaged in wrongful conduct
- By partner’s declaring bankruptcy and capacitation or death
Wrongful dissociation: always has the power to dissociate, but not the right
What is the effect of a dissociation?
-Buyout price
What is an LLC?
abbreviation for Limited Liability Partnership
-Pass through Entity; limits personal liability
What is an FLLP?
-Family limited Liability Partnership (FLLP)
How is an FLLP formed?
-Compliance with statue statues; complete form
What is the liability like in an FLLP or LLP?
The professionals can avoid personal liability for malpractice
What is a Limited Partnership (LP)?
Limits the liability of only some owners
-Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act (RUPLA)
-General Partner (manages the business) and Limited Partner (money)
Formation of an LP: public and formal proceeding
-certificate of limited partnership
Liabilities of Partners in a LP: general partners are personally liable to partnership’s creditor; limited partners are not liable beyond investment
What happens during dissociation and dissolution of an LP?
The assets of the partnership are distributed
Name the types of franchises
-Distributorships
-Chain-style business operations
-Location of the franchise and territorial rights
-Quality control by the Franchiser
Why would a franchise be terminated?
Grounds for termination set by the Franchise contract
-Wrongful termination
-The importance of good faith and fair dealing
State the natures and classifications of corporations
A legal entity created by state statutory law
Corporate earnings and taxation
-can payout profits to shareholders (dividends) or retain them (retained earnings)
Regarding corporations, what happens if a tort or criminal act is committed?
The corporation may be held liable for any torts and criminal acts committed by employees
What are the different classifications of corporations?
Domestic, foreign, and Alien Corporations
Public and private Corporations
Nonprofit Corporations
Close Corporations
S Corporations
What is the difference between a publicly held corporation and a privately held corporation?
-public corporation: one formed by the government to meet some political or governmental purpose
-Publicly held corporation: any corporation whose shares are publicly traded in the securities markets
What is a close corporation?
Close Corporations
-One whose shares are held relatively few persons, often members of a family
What is a non-profit corporation?
-Corporations formed without a profit-making purpose. Examples include hospitals, educational institutions, and charities
What is a S corporation?
A corporation that elects to pass corporate income, losses, deductions, and credits through to their shareholders for federal tax purposes
What requirements must an S corporation have?
- Domestic
- Not be a member of affiliated group of corporations
- Shareholders must be individuals, estates, or certain trusts
- No more than 100 shareholders
- Only one class of stock (i.e. common stock or preferred stock, not both)
- No shareholder may be a nonresident alien
How are S corporations taxed?
THE SAME WAY AS CORPORATIONS
What are the promotional activities of an incorporation?
Businesspeople personally liable for any perincorporation contracts made with investors, accountants, or others on behalf of future corporation
-Liability will continue until incorporation is formed and explicitly assumes the contract by novation (Corporation—-A(promotor)—(business) Liability is released=novation, one liable party is released from contract)