Opinion ID: 1395358
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Limited Partner in Control

Text: Sloan's second theory for imposing personal liability on Thornton for KTDP's debt to Sloan was that Thornton was a limited partner in control of the partnership. A limited partner in control is liable only to those persons who transact business with the limited partnership reasonably believing, based upon the limited partner's conduct, that the limited partner is a general partner. Code § 50-73.24(A). The jury instruction on this issue repeated this statutory requirement verbatim. Although Sloan points to a number of Thornton's actions which he asserts demonstrate that Thornton was in control of KTDP, Sloan testified that he personally had never met Thornton before the first trial, that he dealt directly with Rawn in matters concerning Sloan's contract with KTDP, and that Thornton was not involved in any of those negotiations. Sloan's testimony was consistent with Rawn's recollection. Furthermore, Thornton withdrew as a limited partner of KTDP on July 1, 1985, but was reinstated in April 1988 as a limited partner of KTDP with a 14 percent partnership interest. Therefore, Thornton was not a limited partner of KTDP during the spring and summer of 1987 when Sloan entered into and performed the contract with KTDP. Considering the entire record, including Sloan's own testimony, we find that there was no credible evidence in the first trial to support a finding either that Thornton was a limited partner in control of KTDP based on Sloan's belief Thornton controlled KTDP or that Sloan relied in any way on Thornton's actions in contracting with KTDP.