Partnership Disputes

Section 1 of the Partnership Act of 1890 defines a partnership as follows:
“(1) Partnership is the relation which subsists between persons carrying on a business in common with a view of profit.”

If your enterprise falls within this definition and you are not registered as a limited company or an LLP then you will be involved in a partnership. Some have said that in business the person you are most likely to fall out with is your business partner and those disputes can take many forms:

Misconduct by one of the partners:
Misconduct can range from being rude or aggressive to you or the clients and being incapable of carrying out their duties due to, for example alcohol addiction, to stealing from the partnership by directing potential customers to their own enterprise or other forms of dishonesty and fraud.
A Partner failing to do their share of partnership work:
This situation can come about for several reasons, perhaps the market and the firm have evolved and a partner is no longer a good fit and cannot generate the required income, they have on-going health issues, or they simply want to work less.
Authority and responsibility:
Who does what and what is the chain of command?
Use of the partnership income:
Distribute to partners or invest in the business?
Operational Issues:
Choice of supplier, expansion of offices and many more.
Strategic disputes:
Disagreements about the speed or expansion and direction of the firm.

Contacting our specialist litigation team should be the first step you take when one of these disputes comes to light. Acting in the early stages of such disputes can minimise the disruption caused to the business and greatly increases the chances of an amicable settlement. Our specialist team will help you by advising you, personally or the partnership as a whole, as to which remedy will best achieve your wishes, the best strategy to obtain what you want, whether that is through negotiation, mediation, court action or a combination of all three and the costs.

Question: Do you have a partnership dispute or even what might be the beginnings of one?

If so, please Contact Us

Any questions?

Inevitably, you will have more questions and we welcome all serious enquiries.

Litigation is not something to be undertaken lightly. It does have significant cost and time implications.