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In our previous post, Can a Partner Be Held Liable for a Partnership Debt in Texas?, we discussed the Texas Supreme Court’s holding in American Star Energy and Minerals Corporation v. Stowers[1] that a creditor cannot sue individual partners to satisfy a partnership debt until a judgment is passed against the partnership and goes unsatisfied for 90 days.  There is another part of the story.  The partners argued that the court’s holding imposed “automatic” liability– basically claiming that the court undermined their due process rights on grounds that they should have been named and served in the lawsuit against the partnership so that they would be on notice of their potential liability and have an opportunity to contest it.… Read the rest

In American Star Energy and Minerals Corporation v. Stowers,[1] four partners formed a general partnership called S&J Investments (“S&J”) to invest in oil and gas properties.  S&J contracted with  American Star Energy and Minerals Corporation (“American”) to operate these properties.  Subsequently, American sued S&J for breach of contract, which resulted in a final judgment in the amount of $227,884.46 against S&J in 2008.  It turned out that S&J was undercapitalized and unable to satisfy the judgment debt, so in 2010, American brought another action seeking a judgment against the partners individually. … Read the rest

In American Star Energy and Minerals Corporation v. Stowers,[1] four partners formed a general partnership called S&J Investments (“S&J”) to invest in oil and gas properties.  S&J contracted with  American Star Energy and Minerals Corporation (“American”) to operate these properties.  Subsequently, American sued S&J for breach of contract, which resulted in a final judgment in the amount of $227,884.46 against S&J in 2008.  It turned out that S&J was undercapitalized and unable to satisfy the judgment debt, so in 2010, American brought another action seeking a judgment against the partners individually. … Read the rest

In our previous blog series on general partnership, we talked about what general partnership is and why it is important for business owners to know about it.  We wrote that, despite the advent of limited liability companies (LLCs), business owners frequently form a general partnership, oftentimes without even realizing it.  Generally speaking, partners in a general partnership are jointly and severally liable, and each partner is personally and individually liable for the entire amount of all partnership obligations.  For example, if your partnership owes an amount to a supplier, you, along with the other individual partner(s), would be personally liable if the partnership fails to pay the supplier– whether you intended to be a partner or whether you knew you were exposed to such liability.… Read the rest