2023 District of Columbia Code › Title 29 - Business Organizations. [Enacted title] › Chapter 6 - General Partnerships › Subchapter IV - Relations of Partners to Each Other and to Partnership › § 29–604.07. General standards of partner’s conduct

§ 29–604.07. General standards of partner’s conduct.
(a) The only fiduciary duties a partner owes to the partnership and the other partners are the duty of loyalty and the duty of care set forth in subsections (b) and (c) of this section.
(b) A partner’s duty of loyalty to the partnership and the other partners include the following:
(1) To account to the partnership and hold as trustee for it any property, profit, or benefit derived by the partner in the conduct and winding up of the partnership business or derived from a use by the partner of partnership property, including the appropriation of a partnership opportunity;
(2) To refrain from dealing with the partnership in the conduct or winding up of the partnership business as or on behalf of a party having an interest adverse to the partnership; and
(3) To refrain from competing with the partnership in the conduct of the partnership business before the dissolution of the partnership.
(c) A partner’s duty of care to the partnership and the other partners in the conduct and winding up of the partnership business shall be limited to refraining from engaging in grossly negligent or reckless conduct, intentional misconduct, or a knowing violation of law.
(d) A partner shall discharge the duties to the partnership and the other partners under this chapter or under the partnership agreement and exercise any rights consistently with the obligation of good faith and fair dealing.
(e) A partner does not violate a duty or obligation under this chapter or under the partnership agreement merely because the partner’s conduct furthers the partner’s own interest.
(f) A partner may lend money to and do other business with the partnership, and, as to each loan or transaction, the rights and obligations of the partner shall be the same as those of a person that is not a partner, subject to other applicable law.
(g) This section shall apply to a person winding up the partnership business as the personal or legal representative of the last surviving partner as if the person were a partner.
(h) All the partners may authorize or ratify, after full disclosure of all material facts, a specific act or transaction that otherwise would violate the duty of loyalty.
(i) It is a defense to a claim under subsection (b)(2) of this section and any comparable claim in equity or at common law that the transaction was fair to the partnership.
(j) If, as permitted by subsection (f) of this section or the partnership agreement, a partner enters into a transaction with the partnership which otherwise would be prohibited by subsection (b)(2) of this section, the partner’s rights and obligations arising from the transaction are the same as those of a person that is not a partner.
(July 2, 2011, D.C. Law 18-378, § 2, 58 DCR 1720; Mar. 5, 2013, D.C. Law 19-210, §§ 2(f)(4)(C), (E), 59 DCR 13171.)
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 41-154.4.
2001 Ed., § 33-104.04.
2001 Ed., § 29-604.04.
Section References
This section is referenced in § 29-601.04, § 29-604.01, and § 29-610.03.
Effect of Amendments
The 2013 amendment by D.C. Law 19-210 redesignated former § 20-604.04 as § 29-604.07; substituted “include” for “shall be limited to” in (b); substituted “does” for “shall” in (e); and added (h), (i), and (j).
Editor's Notes
Uniform Law: This section is based on § 404 of the Uniform Partnership Act (1997 Act).
Application of Law 19-210: Section 7 of D.C. Law 19-210 provided that the act shall apply as of January 1, 2012.