Direct Claims For Damages In Partnerships

This article examines the right of a partner in a partnership to bring a direct claim for damages, with particular emphasis on the distinction between loss suffered by the partnership and loss suffered personally by the partner. It considers the circumstances in which the conduct of a partner or manager may give rise to an independent tort claim by the injured partner, in particular under Article 919 of the Greek Civil Code. It also distinguishes such a direct personal claim from the actio pro socio, whereby a partner asserts, in a derivative capacity, a claim belonging to the partnership itself.

The Separate Legal Personality of Partnerships

General partnerships (O.E.) and limited partnerships (E.E.), as legal persons, have their own assets, separate and distinct from those of their partners. Contributions, claims and, more generally, the rights comprising the partnership’s assets are vested in the partnership itself rather than in the individual partners.