12 Warning Signs You’re Headed for a Lawsuit with your Partner-Part 10

On Behalf of | Jun 27, 2019 | Firm News

Welcome to Part 10 in our 12-part series entitled “12 Warning Signs You’re Headed for a Lawsuit with Your Partner”.  If you missed Parts 1-9, click here to get to our Real Estate Investor bLAWg where you can find those and many other informative blog posts.  The tenth warning sign is …
#10:  Sloppy books and records
If your partnership keeps sloppy books and records (non-contemporaneous entries, lack of entries altogether, failure to properly characterize and document additional cash provided by one or both of the partners for the benefit of the partnership, commingling of funds, etc.), there is an excellent chance that when it comes time to settle up and pay out profits (or require more money in the form of cash calls), there will be a vigorous dispute over who is entitled to what.  
Example: We had a developer client who was in a joint venture with another developer for a number of years and several development projects.  Over that period of time, the joint venture needed money beyond the partners’ initial capital contribution.  Our client had enough money to address the joint venture’s need; his partner did not.  Our client provided substantial additional funds to the joint venture over many years, but failed to characterize his additional contributions as additional capital contribution.  A dispute arose as to whether our client’s additional funds should be treated as additional capital contributions or a loan to the joint venture.  Treating them as additional capital contributions would mean our client would be entitled to a greater percent of the profits; if treated as a loan, the partners’ profit shares would not change.  The difference between those two methods of characterizing our client’s additional funds amounted to a seven-figure dispute.  This dispute ended up going to trial and, while our client was happy with the outcome, the expense of going to trial, not to mention the time and aggravation, was significant and could have been avoided had the client had a better operating agreement (the defective operating agreement our client used was drafted by another lawyer, not by us; our operating agreement always addresses and documents how additional partner funding is handled and characterized and, therefore, would have avoided any dispute on this point) and/or had kept more accurate books and records.   
Solution: Do whatever it takes to nip this problem in the bud now.  Clean up your books and records immediately. 
If you are entering a partner or joint venture relationship of any kind, whether it is an LLC, corporation, general or limited partnership, call us.  We can set it up to minimize the risk of future disputes.  If you are having challenges with a current partner, call us.  We may be able to help you resolve your dispute and avoid a lawsuit.  If litigation with your partner is inevitable, we can handle that as well.  If you’re not sure if your agreement is properly drafted to minimize your risks of future dispute and/or to adequately protect you in the event of a future disagreement, call or e-mail us to learn about our special “Partnership Agreement Audit” offer.  For more information, call Jeff Lerman at 415-454-0455 x234 or e-mail him at [email protected].
Lerman Law Partners, LLP Logo

PARENTS, HOMEOWNERS AND REAL ESTATE INVESTORS

WE ARE HERE TO HELP!

You have Successfully Subscribed!