Partnership Rules Flashcards
Partnership
An association of two or more persons to carry on as co-owners a business for profit (formed immediately) even if subjectively didn’t intend to be partners
Governing law = Revised Uniform Partnership Act (RUPA)
Partnership Requirements
- No formal writing/agreement; just based on parties’ intent implied from their conduct
- Anyone who is capable of entering a binding contract is capable of being a partner
- Partnership cannot have illegal purpose
- No one may become a partner without consent of all partners
Factors to Imply a Partnership
- Intent of the parties
- Sharing of profits = rebuttable presumption of partnership (except if payments for debt, serviced, rent, annuity/retirement benefits, interest on loan, or sale of goodwill of business)
Additional factors (do not create presumption, but evidence of formation):
- title to property held as joint tenant or tenant in common
- parties designate their relationship as partnership
- venture requires extensive activity
- sharing of gross returns
Partnership by Estoppel
When person (words/conduct) represents himself as partner or consents to being represented by another as partner –> liable to third parties that extend credit to actual/apparent partnership in reliance on the representation
When person hold out another as partner –> makes that person his agent to bind him to 3rd parties
Real & Personal Property Belongs to Partnership if:
- Titled in partnership name; OR
- Name of the partnership and instrument transferring title notes titleholders capacity as partner
- Presumed partnership property if purchased with partnership funds
Presumptions of Separate Property If:
- Property held in name of partner
- Instrument does not indicate person’s capacity as partner/mention existence of partnership
- Partnership funds not used
Factors to apply for untitled property to determine whether partnership or separate property:
- Use of partnership funds
- Use of property by partnership
- Listed in partnership books as asset
- Close relationship between property/business
- Improvement with partnership funds
- Maintenance with partnership funds
Partners Rights in Partnership Property
- Partners are not co-owners of partnership property and have no transferable interest in partnership property
- Partners have no right to use partnership property other than for the benefit of the partnership
Rights of Partners; unless Agreement specifies otherwise
- Equal right to participate in management and control of the partnership
- Equal right to share in profits/lossess and receive distributions
- no right to compensation - Partners not entitled to renumeration except for compensation for services in winding up business
- Partnership must indemnify partners for payments reasonably made and obligations reasonably incurred by a partner in carrying on business of the partnership
- If partner must pay more than his fair share –> entitled to contribution from other partners
- All partners have right to inspect partnership books/records
- Partnership can be sued in the partnership name/names of individual partners
Partners Owe These 4 Fiduciary Duties
- Duty of loyalty
- Duty of care
- Duty of obedience
- Duty to provide complete and accurate information (concerning the partnership)
Duty of loyalty
- Partners must acorn for all profits/benefits derived by partner in connection with partnership business
- Partners may not deal with partnership as one with adverse interest
- Partners may not compete with partnership
Duty of Care
- Partners must refrain from engaging in negligent, reckless, or unlawful conduct
- Partners must refrain from engaging in intentional misconduct
Duty of Obedience
- Partners must obey all reasonable directions of the partnership
- Partners must refrain from acting outside the scope of the partner’s actual authority
Contract Liability
Partners liable on contracts made by a partner in the scope of the partnership business and on any other contracts expressly authorized by the partners
(joint/several)
Tort Liability
Partners are liable for any torts committed by a partner or an employee of the partnership in the ordinary course of partnership business
(joint/several)
Exhaustion Rule
Plaintiff must first exhaust partnership resources before seeking to collect from partners individual assets
Dissociation (Withdrawal) Occurs Upon Following Events
- Notice of partner’s express will to withdraw
- Happening of an agreed upon event
- Valid expulsion of partner
- Partner becoming bankrupt
- Death of partner, or termination of partner that is a business entity
- Court decision that partner is incapable of performing her duties
Dissolution
Partnership dissolved and business must be wound up when:
- At will partnership, when a partner gives notice of her express will to withdraw
- In partnership for definite term or particular undertaking, when:
- in 90 days of partner’s death, bankruptcy, or wrongful dissociation @ least half of partners express will to be bound up
- all partners express will to be wound up
- term expires/undertaking is complete - Upon happening of agreed upon event
- Upon happening of event that makes it unlawful for partnership to continue
- Upon judicial decree
Limited Partnership Formation & Governing Law
- Governed by Uniform Limited Partnership Act “ULPA”
- Need one or more general partners plus at least one limited partner
- Formation occurs upon filing a certificate of limited partnership w/ Secretary of State
LP’s can only be formed by statute
- name of partnership
-name/address of agent for service of process
- name/address of each general partner
Limited vs. General Partner Liability
Limited Partner: no personal liability for obligations of the partnership
General Partner: jointly/severally liable for partnership obligations
Rights of BOTH General & Limited Partners
- Right to distributions, transferred in whole or in part
- May transact business with the limited partnership
- May maintain a derivative action on behalf of the partnership if the partner first makes demand on general partners or demand would be futile
- May apply for decree of dissolution whenever not reasonably practicable to carry on business in conformity w/ partnership agreement
Limited vs. General Partner Duties
General partners: owe limited partnership fiduciary duties of care and loyalty
Limited partners: owe no fiduciary duty to the partnership and are free to compete with the partnership, unless otherwise provided by agreeement
Rights of GENERAL Partners
- Equal rights in management
- Right to partnership’s business information
- Not entitled to remuneration for services performed for the partnership
- Entitled to indemnification for liabilities incurred in the ordinary course of the partnership’s activities
Rights of LIMITED Partners
- No right to participate in management, unless otherwise indicated in partnership agreement
- Have right to inspect/copy certain partnership records that are required to be kept in records office