Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Effective And Efficient Use Of Investment Tax Incentives

Executive Summary It has been observed from past experiences that there is ample room for effective and efficient use of investment tax incentives in Australia. It was found that tax incentives are does not make much impact on changing the investment climate and many times tax incentives turned out to be redundant – that is, investment would have been undertaken even without the incentives. The fiscal cost of tax incentives can be high, reducing opportunities for other required spending like on infrastructure, education and health care or any other sector. Effective and efficient use of tax incentives for small businesses requires careful tax designed. Many times government use income tax exemptions to attract investment or persuade for joint ventures to attract investments. Good infrastructure, long term effective policies, economic stability etc. are important for bringing investment. There is a need of have correct taxation policy to really have a great impact on domestic small business. Good governance of tax incentives is critical for small business growth. Transparency is necessity of time to facilitate accountability, providing opportunities for opening business or for extracting information for rent seekers and to curtail corruption. There are many stakeholders involved in the tax incentive proposal approval but the best in the ministry of finance that enforced and monitored by the tax administration. To grant tax incentives it should be based on rules rather thanShow MoreRelatedTax Reform For Small Businesses1433 Words   |  6 PagesExecutive Summary Tax reform is the crucial component in Government’s policy agenda so as to frame more employment, production, and opportunities. It is mostly initiated for the improvement of levy policy in order to implement social as well as the economic benefits. This policy paper explores and suggest tax reforms for small businesses in Australia and also analyzes the various consequences of its impacts in terms of unemployment, poverty, inequality, and on the overall economy. Since much of theRead MoreWhy British Columbia Should Continue Gradually Increase Price On Carbon Tax1245 Words   |  5 PagesFor the last two decades, the increased use of fossil energy caused the environmental problems. The evidence of global warming, like drying rivers, extinction of species, melting of glaciers, became more often around the planet. The climate change became a threat to healthy environment and prosperity of humanity and wildlife, and the world community started searching for solution to combat cl imate change. In 2008 British Columbia introduced carbon tax on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to reduce globalRead MoreMaking Preservation Possible For City Skylines1659 Words   |  7 Pagesthe traditional classroom for today’s youth. For these reasons, the nation’s historic buildings need to be preserved and restored to their original glory. More state and city governments should follow the federal government’s lead and provide tax incentives to encourage builders to remodel, and thus preserve historic buildings, preventing the demolition of iconic landmarks. A historic building is any place with historical context. The word â€Å"historic† is defined by Merriam Webster Dictionary asRead MoreA Summary On The Executive Summary1422 Words   |  6 PagesThe most efficient methods which are used in the reduction of emissions related to carbon are giving most of the business incentives which are aimed at reducing the activities which lead to the production of more carbon to the atmosphere. This is the efficient method to be used rather than using the command and control method whereby the governments regulate what the individual firms emit or what technology they are using. Most of the incentive operated policies include the imposition of tax on theRead MoreNotes On Tax Taxation And Taxation1401 Words   |  6 Pages 3. Source-source double taxation. This is when both countries consider the source of the income to be within their country. Tax treaties will provide rules for determining the source of income. The source rules not only clarify in which country the income originated and may be tax but also states that the country that does not impose taxes must provide a relief from double taxation.† Economic double taxation is where the same income is taxed in more than one country in the hands of different taxpayersRead MoreFinance1352 Words   |  6 Pagesand marketing activities, in such a way that it can generate the sufficient returns on invested capital, with an intention to maximise the wealth of the owners. The financial manager plays the crucial role in the modern enterprise by supporting investment decision, financing decision, and also the profit distribution decision. He/she also helps the firm in balancing cash inflows and cash outflows, and in turn to maintain the liquidity position of the firm. How does the modern financial managerRead MoreThe Policy Reform : Government Infrastructure Developments From Flowing Economically950 Words   |  4 Pagessolution to affordable housing. Rather he proposes a land tax which would be efficient in accounting for the economic surplus arising from land ownership. He asserts that revenue raised would be sufficient to fund all public expenditure. Such reform would be advantageous to the economy insofar as the disincentive of increasing production imposed by income tax (as marginal benefit lowers with increased production) would be eradicated. The single land tax would result in a more equitable distribution of wealthRead MoreThe Importance Of A Newly Formed Business Needs A Lot Of Your Time On Development1234 Words   |  5 Pagesoiling it like a machine. As a rusty machine can stop functioning so can a business. Whether it is business investment, growth or dividend payment, you will need smooth cashflow management which massively depend s on your credit control and debt recovery systems. Every business has different client base and payment terms so we can analyse your business needs free of cost and make an effective plan to get your outstanding bills paid relieving you of a lot of hassle. A number of solutions are availableRead MoreEssay On Cape Verca1362 Words   |  6 Pages This is a proposal to promote the expansion of private agricultural electricity production, water system investment, and agricultural experimentation. Cape Verde faces a number of fairly unique barriers to growth as a developing African country. Geographic and structural factors contribute to problems that hold back economic growth. The development of Cape Verde’s energy and water infrastructure can alleviate some of its problems. Cape Verde’s geographic characteristics make food production difficultRead MoreTackling Environmental Pollution with Green Taxes1605 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction Green taxes were introduced objectively to tackle environment pollutions. According to (Fullerton, Leicester, Smith, 2008), taxes on things such as Landfill, industrial energy use (the climate change levy), aggregate levy, motor fuel differentiation, vehicle exercise duty differentiation and central London congestion charge had either been introduced or reformed in the past 20 years to tackle environmental pollution. These taxes are called Green Taxes or Environmental Taxes. Global

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Why The Danish Prisons System Is Better Than The American...

Why the Danish Prison System is better than the American Prison System? There are various questions to consider before implementing a criminal justice system in a society. The most important question, in this regard, is about the individuals who are going to implement the justice system; should law makers have total control over the system or should professionals run it? Law makers have the power to establish a bill that constructs they very foundation of a system of which the country will go on. Professionals on the other hand are merely experienced individuals that are fully aware of the answers to â€Å"what if† and have a different prospective on outcomes. For example, in the United States of America, the criminal justice system is†¦show more content†¦On the other hand, the theory of rehabilitation states that punishment should be given to the crime and not the criminal him or her self. Theory of rehabilitation focuses on the humane methods to deal with the criminals. The American prison system is mostly based on the first stated the ory; that is why there are more strict rules for criminals in the US. Oppositely, the Danish prison system is based on the theory of rehabilitation. After the implementation of the open prison system in late 1970s, the country is making progress in the reduction of recidivism and the overall criminal rates. This paper explores some of the possible reasons of why the Danish prison system is better than the American prison system. The first source to know more about the above stated issue is the article written by Doran Larson in the Atlantic. This article is chosen as the first source to explore because of its relevance with the main topic. Larson has the experience of teaching English inside American prisons. He is a professor of English at Hamilton College and is a supporter of open prison system of Scandinavian nations. He started this article by telling the story of some tourists visiting the Suomenlinna Island (1). He then explained the reactions of an American family after going near to the prison walls. The family was distressed as compared to the tourists of other nationalities (1). Larson explained that the strict prison rules in America

Monday, December 9, 2019

Guideline on the Assessment of Cardiovascular Risk

Question: Discuss about the Guideline on the Assessment of Cardiovascular Risk. Answer: A thorough cardiovascular assessment for Daisy would help in the identification of significant factors that may influence cardiovascular health, such as hypertension, high blood cholesterol. A focused assessment would be beneficial after a comprehensive assessment of the patient in order to highlight any potential complication (Goff et al., 2014). The first assessment to be considered for Daisy would be an assessment of chest pain using the PQRST Mnemonic (Proactive Quality Radiation Severity Timing). This is a methodology that is very useful in the assessment of chest pain and fosters communication with other healthcare providers in an informative and efficient manner. The patient needs to be checked for symmetry and posture of the thorax, the point of maximum intensity (PMI), gross deformities of skin, the colour of the skin and abnormal contours. The patient has an irregular pulse rate at 130-150 wheres the normal 60-100 bpm. The respiratory rate of the patient is abnormal at 24 a s the normal rate is 12-18 bpm. The pulse rate and respiratory rate would be regularly checked for. The patient is to be checked for central cyanosis that leads to the blue colouration of the mouth, conjunctiva and lips. The next step would be to examine palpation. The assessment of edema will be done through venous blood gas test, creatinine and liver function test. Physical examination of edema can be done through identifying tenderness, warmth and erythema in the area of edema. Presenec and degree of pitting edema also gives information about cardiovascular status of patients. This would include examining the ankles, feet, face and trunk (Goff et al., 2013). Atrial fibrillation is an irregular heart beat that can cause blood clots, heart failure or strokes nd other complications of the heart (Mehra et al., 2016). The patient needs to be checked for her heart rate and heart rhythm. The blood pressure and pulse would be measured. The patient would be asked about feelings of fatigue and respiratory distress. In the case of atrial fibrillation, it is expected that the patient is easily fatigued, is anxious about the condition and does not tolerate activity very well. The nursing goals would be to identify proper coping strategies for managing anxiety and decreasing feelings of fatigues. A number of nursing interventions would be appropriate in this regard. The patient would be advised to take frequent rest and encouraged to express her concerns and feelings about the condition. Vital signs would be recorded on a regular basis. Input and output would be measured, and signs of embolism would be monitored. Abnormal bleeding would be checked for (Potter et al., 2016). A comprehensive respiratory assessment would be conducted for Daisy. The first examination would be of conscious state and general appearance. In patients with respiratory distress, a conscious state is altered, and patients feel anxious, distressed, exhausted and have difficulties in breathing. The rationale is that patients with respiratory distress have difficulty in speech, speak in short sentences and are unable to verbalise. Peripheral capillary oxygen saturation is found to be less at 92%. An oximeter would be used for measuring the oxygen saturation level. The respiratory rate has been found to increase at 28 bpm. Respiratory rate would therefore be assesed at a regular interval. A rapid and thorough airway breathing assessment of respiratory distress will help to determine the patients work of breathing (WOB), respiratory rate and oxygen saturation level. If the respiratory rate is higher, Daisys WOB will be higher too. Monitoring oxgygen saturation is also a vital sign to a ssess the progress of patient with respiratory distress (Tulaimat et al., 2016). The patient would also be examined for sweaty and pale skin, pulse rate and breath sounds. (Coombs et al., 2013). Pulmonary edema is the medical condition of the excess fluid in the lungs of the patient, either in the alveoli or the interstitial spaces. A robust management and treatment plan for pulmonary edema would bring better patient outcomes. The immediate objective for Daisy would be to improve the oxygenation status and bring a reduction in the pulmonary congestion. The precipitating factors would be identified. The other goals would be to increase oxygen tension, reduce fluid volume, improve the ability of the heart to pump in an effective manner and decrease anxiety level of the patient. Since pulmonary edema is a medical emergency and life-threatening condition, prompt actions would be required. Oxygen would be given in high concentrations for relieving dyspnea and hypoxia. Morphine would be administred in small intermittent doses. Intravenous injections would be given for diuretics. Vitals signs are to e checked for increased heart rate, falling blood pressure, decreased urinary outpu t. Electrolyte levels are to be checked as potassium loss is significant. If the patient fails to have the adequate response to therapy, administration of vasodilator would be required (Powell et al., 2016). References Coombs, M., Dyos, J., Waters, D., Nesbitt, I. (2013). Assessment, monitoring and interventions for the respiratory system.Critical Care Manual of Clinical Procedures and Competencies. Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester, 63-171. Goff Jr, D. C., Lloyd-Jones, D. M., Bennett, G., Coady, S., D'Agostino Sr, R. B., Gibbons, R., ... Robinson, J. G. (2014). 2013 ACC/AHA guideline on the assessment of cardiovascular risk: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines.Journal of the American College of Cardiology,63(25 Pt B), 2935-2959. Goff, D. C., Lloyd-Jones, D. M., Bennett, G., Coady, S., DAgostino, R. B., Gibbons, R., ... Robinson, J. (2013). 2013 ACC/AHA guideline on the assessment of cardiovascular risk.Circulation, 01-cir. Mehra, R., Stone, K. L., Marcus, G. M., Varosy, P. D., Cummings, S. R., Cawthon, P. M. (2016). Relationship of Bisphosphonate Therapy and Atrial Fibrillation/Flutter.CHEST,149(5), 1173-1180. Potter, P. A., Perry, A. G., Stockert, P., Hall, A. (2016).Fundamentals of nursing. Elsevier Health Sciences. Powell, J., Graham, D., OReilly, S., Punton, G. (2016). Acute pulmonary oedema.Nursing Standard,30(23), 51-60. Tulaimat, A., Patel, A., Wisniewski, M., Gueret, R. (2016). The validity and reliability of the clinical assessment of increased work of breathing in acutely ill patients.Journal of critical care,34, 111-115.

Sunday, December 1, 2019

Political Cartoon on Health Care Reform in the United States

Cartoon Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Political Cartoon on Health Care Reform in the United States specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More (Toles 1) The cartoonist portrays the factors influencing the pace of the healthcare reform process in the United States. He suggests that the process has been very slow and has suffered several setbacks. In spite of the fact that the whole procedure of reforming the healthcare sector has covered a period more than a decade, there are massive political efforts adding some slack the process. The cartoonist demonstrates the parties involved in the healthcare reform bound to suffer from the pace of the reform process. The cartoonist mainly uses metaphors to pass his message. He likens the pace of the reform process to that of a snail meaning that the process has been very slow. In fact, he uses the picture of snail as an ambulance carrying the reform process in its back. In this case , reform process is seen to be in a critical point as symbolized by the ambulatory function of the snail carrying the reform process (Toles 1). The winding path used by the proverbial snail ambulance indicates that the process itself has not been progressive with regard to the achievements made to complete the process. In addition, the cartoonist adds a time frame to the winding path which gives an indicator of the years that the process suffered setbacks. This means that the process took a period of more than a decade. The cartoonist also employs personification to relay his message. An elephant asking the snail to reduce the pace is drawn at the end of the path to suggest that some stakeholders have tried to thwart the reforms. The human ability to talk is attributed to the two animals, and for that reason, presents the use of personification as a literary stylistic device.Advertising Looking for essay on art? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The stakeholders in this case have massive influence on the whole process represented by the elephant image interacting with the small snail. The allegorical snail portrays the burden carried in the reform process since the snail is known to carry its shell on its back (Sheppard 21). At the foot of the cartoon, the elephant intimidates the snail ambulance that some people might get hurt in the reform process. This shows that some political bigwigs argue that the position of the reform process may be detrimental to some extent. Figuratively the snail is pictured as bigger than the elephant in the cartoon. This is symbolic of the weight that the reform processes and effort carries over the individual needs of the reform stakeholders The cartoonist exaggerates the pace, which the stakeholders would want to be used in the reform process. The snail pace is proverbially known to be the slowest pace, however, the parties would want the slowest speed be slackened the more. Their influence makes the reform process sluggish, which is portrayed in the year 2010 by the elephant standing on the year’s mark (Sheppard32). The audience of this cartoon will need to correlate the process of perform reforms within the healthcare sector and its impact on the society. One must reckon the fact that the process was established some times in the past and has arrived its critical stages. The reader must also notice that there exist stakeholders with vested interests in the whole reform process who have been a hindrance to its progress. A reader can offer a rebuttal to the cartoonist claim that the stakeholders influence the process in a detrimental manner. This is attributed to the reform process that is meant to be beneficial to all parties. This means that no matter how long it takes to carry out the reforms, all efforts to achieve an all-beneficial policy is valid, and for that reason, it should not be viewed negatively.Advertising We will write a cust om essay sample on Political Cartoon on Health Care Reform in the United States specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Works Cited Sheppard, Alice. Cartooning for suffrage. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2008. Print. Toles, Tom. â€Å"Political cartoon on health care reform in the United States. – Right to Health Care – ProCon.org.† Right to Health Care ProCon.org. N.p.,2009. This essay on Political Cartoon on Health Care Reform in the United States was written and submitted by user L1v1a to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

College Essay Topic #4 7 Essay Tips for Writing a College Application Essay About a Fictional Character

College Essay Topic #4 7 Essay Tips for Writing a College Application Essay About a Fictional Character How can you write an essay about a character from a novel, play or movie without ending up with a book report instead of a college application essay?   Follow these guidelines and you will demonstrate your ability to think critically about literature, film or theater, as well as about yourself. 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Choose a character who truly inspired you, repulsed you, or otherwise moved you. Demonstrate that you know the character well.   Re-read the book or watch the movie again if you have to! 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ask yourself, â€Å"How am I like this character?   How am I different? Write about it. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Write about the lessons you learned from the character.   How have you applied those lessons in your life? 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If the character is from the past or the future, or from a different town, country, or even planet, inquire as to how you would fare in the character’s world. 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Similarly to #4, how would the character fare in your world?   What if the character had to babysit your brother or do your science fair project? 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Share just enough information about the character and the character’s situation to allow us to understand how you are similar to or different from that character.   Keep the â€Å"story† to a minimum. 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Make sure the essay is at least 75% about you!   If you find yourself writing more than 25% about the character, step back, ask yourself question #s 1-5, and change the balance. Remember, just because you’re writing about a character doesn’t mean you have to re-tell the entire life story of the character.   Keep it personal and reflective and you’ll write a winning essay. For examples of successful college essays, The Essay Expert recommends Accepted!   50 Successful College Admissions Essays by Gen and Kelly Tanabe. Still not sure how to write a great college application essay about your sport?   Contact The Essay Expert for a FREE 15 minute consultation.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Writing content with clout - Emphasis

Writing content with clout Writing content with clout Ever seen the TV game show Supermarket Sweep? The premise is pretty simple. After answering a series of questions, the contestants are instructed to find certain groceries in the supermarket. Not surprisingly, no-one methodically paces through the aisles. With the clock ticking, they race around frantically searching for visual clues that point to their prized items. Browsing the internet is much the same. Studies have shown that we adopt the same search and seize approach when looking for information online. In fact, only one in six people actually read websites sentence by sentence. Instead, most people scan the text for keywords, bullet points and subheadings. Some studies have even shown that people read only the first two words of headlines before losing interest. And its generally a given that you only have a maximum of 10 seconds to impress your readers before they click to another page or site. The key is to make your writing as direct as possible. As any Twitter fan will know, if you cant say it in 140 characters or less, it simply isnt worth saying. Apply that principle to all your web-based writing and youll be onto a winner. Thats not to say that you cant elaborate on points, make explanations and create coherent arguments. Its just that long rambling sentences are best left to novelists or poets. When it comes to the web, short and sweet is best. Prune through your writing and cut out any meaningless words. And rearrange your sentences so that theyre as punchy as possible. The tips below will help you to create a high-impact writing style A clear focus Know your audience. Ask yourself who youre writing for and what information they want to read. Then focus on one main message per web page. If youre not sure what your main message is, write down the headings who?, what?, where?, when? and why? Then brainstorm your ideas to help clarify your thoughts. Create powerful sentences by speaking directly to the reader. Use words such as you, we, us and our. And use the active voice as much as possible. For instance, we formed the company in 1999 is far more effective than the company was formed in 1999. Ready, aim, fire! Break up the information into digestible chunks and keep your paragraphs short. Use subheads and make sure that, when combined, they tell the story of your article. Bullet points are also a great tool to use when writing for the web. Remember that bullet lists always need an introduction (like this one). They are good for: conveying key information breaking down complex lists summarising main points instructions (especially if numbered). The advantage of using bullet points is that they: make lists clearer, as they are more visual use white space well grab attention help readers scan information reduce word count. Create a call to action By their very nature, websites are interactive. A static site that doesnt involve its readers is like an out-of-date concert poster. Keep inviting your readers to contact you or click other internal links for more information. Try to anticipate your readers needs and then give them what they want. You cant stop them jumping around searching for keywords. But if you give them something of value, you can help them to stick with your website for longer. Remember, be bold with what youre offering and dont be afraid to shout out your content. Give your readers the satisfaction of finding the prized information instantly. The secret is to rig the game so that they win every time. Robert Ashton is the Chief Executive of Emphasis.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Discuss the controversies that have occurred around the issue of race Essay

Discuss the controversies that have occurred around the issue of race and intelligence - Essay Example According to scientists, the relation between the two constructs race and intelligence cannot be defined accurately (Sternberg, 2005). Psychologists and sociologists have come up with different views on what the constructs imply. In their attempt to correlate them, researchers have only given way to more contradictory ideas. It is a common belief that level of intelligence varies from race to race. This belief has fuelled controversy over the issue of racial discrimination on the basis of intelligence quotient or IQ. Nisbett (2005) states that there is a difference of intelligence level among the Blacks and the Whites. He further claims that the Whites have scored over the Blacks in intelligence testing by one deviation point. However, Nisbett’s point is countered by the view that intelligence testing methods vary depending on the socio-cultural context of the individual (Sternberg, 2005). There have been a lot of debates and discussions over the analysis of intelligence and its genetic bearing. Though it is an abstract concept but can be measured by means of a number of techniques that keep on evolving. Experts are of the opinion that as intelligence is multi-dimensional in nature and conceptually vary from society to society it calls for different conceptual methods of measuring it (Neisser et al, 1996). Of late there happens to be a disagreement over the authenticity and validity of IQ test patterns as it has been declared to be outdated in ascertaining the intelligence level or mental ability of different races. It is because of the simple reason that the conceptual construct varies culturally and socially. As a result the attributes that make for intelligence within the Chinese might not be so for the Americans. Therefore it could be said that the IQ test’s predictability is limited (Neisser, 1996). Neisser’s views though

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Alternative energy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Alternative energy - Essay Example The Guinness Atkinson Alternative Energy Fund’s co-manager Edward Guinness says that although wind energy’s use is growing almost at 30 per cent per year, yet the price of energy generated by the wind is competitive with the price of the fossil fuels (Eaves, 2007). Rapid growth in the production and use of solar power is also expected in the near future. Slightly more than 0.1 per cent of the total energy in the world is derived from the solar power through the photovoltaic vells. According to Edward Guinness, use of the solar power can grow to more than 10 per cent in the next two to three decades with the improvement of the manufacturing processes (Eaves, 2007). However, â€Å"[t]here are financial, political, and technical pressures as well as time constraints that will force tough choices† (Grunwald, 2009). Therefore, it would take some time for the use of the alternative sources of energy to outperform that of the fossil fuels. The future of energy is more about how than what. â€Å"I think the things that would really blow us away if we could jump forward 20 years would not be the giant fields of windmills, but the 1,000 changes in daily life that have taken place in order to save energy† (Steffen cited in Eaves, 2007). In the future, the sources of power are expected to get closer to the home. The changes would extend beyond the use of low-energy light bulbs. People would rely more on local energy particularly where the places have abundance of wind, sunshine, and rivers. With the production of energy at the domestic level, there would be flow of energy back and forth within the small infrastructure in the form of power grids that would supply energy two-way i.e. both to and from the homes. The alternative sources of energy have not been utilized to full extent on the Earth to date fundamentally because their supply and use has been expensive and the supply has not met the demands. Although the use of fossil fuels

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Michael Moore Essay Example for Free

Michael Moore Essay Michael Moore has provided radical political alternative to mainstream perspective by making documentaries, writing books and commenting on the political issues. He is the person who has criticized on globalization, large co-operations and assault weapon ownerships. He has done a controversial movie with President George W. Bush named Fahrenheit 9/11. That was the award-winning and controversial film of 2004. This movie contained the distortions and untruths which had endorsed President Bush for re-election. That was the first time a film has this kind of impact. Background Michael Moore born on April 23, 1954, is the famous American film maker, author and liberal political commentator. He was born as Irish Catholic. He had done schooling from parochial St. Johns Elementary School for primary school and originally intended to join the seminary. He then attended Davison High School where he had done drama and debate. In 1972, he completed graduation and at the age of 18, he was elected to the Davison School board. As he dropped out from the University of Michigan-Fint, he worked with the student newspaper The Michigan Times and worked with the General motors. Then he got the alternative weekly magazine The Flint Voice nowadays called as The Michigan Voice, at the age of 22. In 1986, he became the editor of Mother Jones. After 4 months, he was fired from the Mother Jones because he had refused to print the article by Paul Berman, which was against the social political party of Nicaragua, named Sandinista. He was once sued for wrongful dismissal and the case got settled out of court for $58,000, providing him with the seed money for his first film â€Å"Roger me†. In 1990, he got married to a producer Kathleen Glynn and he started living with his stepdaughter Natalie in the Traverse City, Michigan. He was Catholic, but he was disagreed with the church teachings on abortion and gay marriage. He also started the Traverse City Film Festival in Traverse City, Michigan in 2005. Also Time magazine named him one of the world’s 100 influencing people. He had made many documentary movies which criticize the globalization, large co-operations and assault weapon ownership. He had produced and directed movies like Roger me, Fahrenheit 9/11, Canadian Bacon etc. These were the documentary movies which criticize the society on the issues like political, globalization etc. Capitalism-A Love Story was the movie which shown the financial crisis of 2007-2010 and the US transition between the administration of incoming Obama and outgoing Bush. During a press conference he said â€Å"Democracy is not a spectator sport, its a participatory event. If we dont participate in it, it ceases to be a democracy. So Obama will rise or fall based not so much on what he does but on what we do to support him† Reuters Sept 06, 2009. He had done acts in the movies like Lucky Numbers, the Fever and Canadian Bacon. He had played many roles like an Anti-Canadian activist and journalist. He had also hosted the BBC television series TV Nation and the series was aired on BBC2 in UK 1994-1995. It was also aired in US on NBC in 1994 for 9 episodes and in Fox for 8 episodes. In 1999-2000, The Awful Truth was aired on Channel 4 (U. K) and Bravo (U.  S), which satirized the actions of big co-operations and politicians. In 1999, the show which was similar to the â€Å"The Awful Truth† but also incorporated phone-ins and a live stunt each week was aired through U. K. ’s Channel 4. The name of the show was Michael Moore live. Also in 1999 he had won â€Å"Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award† in Arts and Entertainment for â€Å"The Awful Truth† where he was also described as the muckraker, author and documentary filmmaker. He had also directed various music videos like Rage against Machine, Sleep Now in the Fire, Boom and All the way to Reno. He had made appearance in the documentary movies like The Drugging of Our Children (2005), Grand Funk Railroads, Blood in the Face (1991), The Yes Man (2003 , The Corporation (2004), Martial Law 9/11:Rise of the Police State (2005), The Divided State (2005), I’m Going to Tell You a Secret (2006) and Shooting Michael Moore. These movies were the documentaries on different issues of the society. The movie â€Å"The Drugging of Our Children† was the movie based on the over-prescription of psychiatric meditation to children and teenagers. The movie â€Å"Blood in the Face† was the documentary about supremacy groups (Neo-Nazi). In 2003, the movie The Yes Man was the documentary in which two men posed like World Trade Organizations and he appeared during the segment which was concerned about the working conditions of Mexico and Latin America. He had said The problem is the profit motive: for corporations, theres no such thing as enough’† during the interview for his movie â€Å"The Corporation†. Then he was appeared in the movie Martial Law 9/11: Rise of the Police State, which was the criticism to his own movie Fahrenheit 9/11. He was also featured in the movie The Divided State which followed the levels of controversies surrounding his visit to U. S. before elections in 2004. Then he appeared in I’m Going to Tell You a Secret which chronicles Madonna during her 2004 Re-invention world tour. He had also written the famous books like â€Å"Downsize this! † which was based on corporate crime and politics in U. S. , â€Å"Stupid White Men† which was the critics on American’s domestic and foreign policies and â€Å"Dude, Wheres My Country? † which was based on Bush Family’s relationship with Saudi royalty, Bin Laden Family and the energy industry and a call-to-action for liberals. Discussion Michael Moore has criticized the whole system of America in many ways like through documentary movie, books, TV shows, press conferences and many other ways. He is the person who has criticized President George W. Bush on the 9/11 attacks. He had changed the face of elections in September 2008 as he released the movie on internet â€Å"Slacker Uprising†. In all his movies, books written, TV shows, music audios etc, he has criticized globalization, large corporations and assault weapon ownership, the Iraq War, U.  S. President George W. Bush and the American health care system in his written and cinematic works. I am trying to reach across the great divide that exists in our country right now, he said. Certainly we could find some common ground on issues like health care, because illness knows no political stripe. (Flasher, 2007) His book â€Å"Downsize This! Random Threats from an Unarmed American† was a critical review on the corporations ignoring the safety and well being of their community and workers over their stockholders. He had shown the true faces of the society which he wants to change. Bowling for Columbine Like most of the Moore’s work this movie was based on the real life incidence of 1999 the Columbine High School massacre. This massacre claimed the life of twelve students, one teacher, injuring more than twenty other people and ended up in suicide of the two students committing the crime. This was regarded as one of the deadliest school incidences in America and raised questions over the distribution and control of guns and arms. The movie revolved around the weapon control issues. This movie was critically acclaimed, received commercial success as well as criticized for misrepresentation of facts. However people liked it for various reasons. The movie goes on probing various aspects of the violent records of USA across the world. Ordonez-Jasis, and Jasis () listed various issues discussed between Moore and Evan McCallum (the spokesperson for Lockheed Martin, the largest weapons-builder in the nation on the violent history of American involvement in various international activities such as, Mossadegh government and the imposition of the Shah (1953), our involvement and war in Vietnam (1963 to 1975), the overthrow and assassination of the democratically elected president of Chile, Salvador Allende (1973) to the funding, training and support of death-squad governments in El Salvador (1977 to 1991), the Contra war in Nicaragua (1981 to 1990), our involvement and funding of both sides of the Iraq-Iran war (1980 t o 1988), the bloody invasion of Panama (1989), our involvement in the invasion of Kuwait and its aftermath, the Gulf War against Iraq (1990 to 1991), the Yugoslavia-Kosovo war (1999), and, finally, our initial support for and later destruction of the Taliban government in Afghanistan (2001 to 2002). The disturbing actual footage of the violence and death caused by U. S. foreign policy are portrayed as acts of international violence. (Ordonez-Jasis and Jasis)† Moore had described the Columbine High School massacre as microcosm of what happens throughout the world. This was considered as cruel as well as unfair comparative statement as the level of massacre, the objectives and implications have been different. However, it could have been controlled with strict gun control laws. The unfortunate deaths of students and psychological trauma of injured and related people has been compared to the thousands of those who faced the direct and indirect involvement of US in violent activities in their country or region. This comparative analysis shocked America as well as internationally questioned the role of America in various issues. Fahrenheit 9/11  This was again a controversial documentary movie targeting the President over the decision to attack Iraq irrespective of the fact that major world leading organization and parties were against it. The controversies were over various factors like utilization of oil resources to the personal reasons President George Bush may have. The movie was acclaimed in various film festivals from Cannes to Academy awards. This movie is presented as an examination of the role of America, particularly the role of The President after the Twin Tower, September 11 2001 attacks. This film like his earlier works has been in controversies for the distortion of truth. There was list of facts and figures published along with the movie release related to the points raised in the movie. This movie was also politically motivated as 2004 election was due when the movie released and it was said to have impact on the election. â€Å"Moores Fahrenheit 9/11 surpassed that success on its opening week- end. Released in the summer before the 2004 U. S. presidential election, the anti-Bush administration film became a powerful rallying point for both Bush detractors and Bush supporters. That it arrived in American theaters with the imprimatur of the Cannes Film Festivals Palme DOr award only spiked the controversy. No film has ever played such a prominent role in U. S. lectoral politics. (McEnteer 2006, 79) The movie and Moore got international recognition with this movie. The movie presented Bush and his family’s, presented Bush as a ‘corrupted clown, serial deceiver and rendering his critics apopliect’ (McEnteer, 2006) Capitalism (Capitalism, a love story) This movie was based on the corporate malfeasance. This means the privatization and led implications on the life of individuals across the world. There have been number of works from across the range of journalists, film makers and others like Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Michael Moore, and Vandana Shiva who questioned role of various power bodies of our society. Chomsky on one hand questioned the role of media in misrepresentation of Islam, whereas Moore has attacked to various power bodies across the world. The movie was well created that it succeeded to keep the attention of viewers from start to the end. The movie included the 1950s corporate propaganda films. There have been some scenes of the movie that was been appreciated like in one of the scenes the Shell Oil CEO Mark Moody-Stuart is shown to have tea on his front lawn with the same people against him, referred him murderer on the giant banner and are the Earth First! Activists. Capitalism was attack on the role of large corporations and their profitability concerns that is impacting the environment, society and world as a whole. Conclusion No matter how controversial Moore’s work has been so far. His presentations have given people an opportunity to think something that can be a hidden truth. The questioned raised over the aspects like individual ethics and collective imperatives, role of media, role of administrative agencies and the ability to present something that can impact power centers have helped in manufacturing different consents in the society altogether. Moore works have held the power centers responsible and accountable for their actions and justifications of the actions. American political spectrum has been very much influenced by Moore as a personality and his work that attacked various political and power spectrums.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Revolutionary Opinion :: essays papers

Revolutionary Opinion They all say, ?Taxation without representation is tyranny.? Those revolutionary fools! Surely they jest! I am well aware that many of my fellow townspeople believe in this notion. It is rather sensible, after all. Who really likes to pay taxes? Not I! However, all those that subscribe to this train of thought are living in a dream world. In reality, it is the other way around. ?Representation without taxation is tyranny.? Revolution is futile and will only result in more taxes for the whiners to gripe and moan about. Frankly, I?ve had enough. A few days ago, I saw some protesters walking down the road chanting and marching with signs that read "Taxation Without Representation Is Tyranny.? I seem to remember that other Americans also once expressed similar views. Most people would now regard that point as a fair one. I am no great fan of democracy, as I prefer liberty, but even I can agree that people who are taxed but not allowed to vote are likely to be more than averagely oppressed by those who can vote. This then prompted me to consider the converse proposition: Representation Without Taxation Is Tyranny. It would, of course, be a fallacy to think that this is entailed by the first proposition, but surely it is just as reasonable. If we must have state services, it should at least be for those who pay for them to vote for which services they want and how much they wish to pay. To allow those providing, or living off, the services to vote is like allowing a shopkeeper to vote on what you must buy from him, or a beggar to vote on what you must give him. Naturally, I hear them say, ?but doesn't everyone pay tax, at least on goods and services?? Furthermore, is it not trivially true, insofar as morals can be ?true?? No, they do not and it is not. Not by a long shot. Lord Grenville, everyone?s favorite exchequer, has recently been parading around town saying how he realizes that the recent practices of taxation have been unfair and how he relates to the feelings of the townspeople. He even went so far as to state, or shall I say lie, about how much he strongly dislikes his job because he, like everyone else, has to pay taxes.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Partnership Case Law

PARTNERSHIP CASELAW | | This section of the website provides access to all cases summarised in the Partnership Law Updates which have been issued since January 2000 to date. Therefore this Archive operates as a guide to some of the interesting partnership cases decided in common law jurisdictions in recent years. Special thanks are due to Professor Dick Webb (Emeritus Professor of Law in the University of Auckland) for alerting me to many developments contained in this section and to Dr Keith Fletcher of the University of Queensland. PARTNERSHIP LAW CASESJanurary 2000_______________________Partnership by Holding outPlaintiffs instructed first-named defendant as their solicitor – Plaintiffs’ funds dissipated by the first-named defendant – First-named defendant’s wife also worked as a solicitor in the practice – Plaintiffs instructed the defendant as a result of their friendship with his wife – Husband and wife conducted themselves as partners in everything they did socially – Whether wife was a partner in the practice – Whether wife was liable as a partner by holding outPalter v Zeller and Lieberman (1997) 30 OR (3d) 796.In this case, the Court of Justice of Ontario considered both the allegation of a partnership between the two defendants, and the allegation that the second-named defendant had held herself out to be a partner with the first-named defendant. The first-named defendant, Zeller, had set up in practice as a lawyer and after his marriage to the second-named defendant, Lieberman, she joined him in practice. This fact was advertised by an announcement which was published by Zeller to the effect that Lieberman had â€Å"joined me in the practice of law†.There was no indication given in the firm’s stationery or business cards that they were partners in this practice. The plaintiffs had been friendly with Lieberman before she met Zeller and arising out of this friendship they instructed Zeller on a number of occasions. After Lieberman joined the practice, the plaintiffs entrusted their savings to Zeller and signed blank documents in connection with the use of the funds.When Zeller dissipated this money, the plaintiffs sought to make Lieberman jointly liable with Zeller for the loss on the grounds that either she was Zeller’s partner or that she had allowed herself to be held out as his partner under the Ontario equivalent of s 14(1) of he Partnership Act 1890. The plaintiffs’ sought to support their claim that the husband and wife were partners as a matter of law by the fact that the plaintiffs had a social relationship with both defendants and it was clear from this relationship that the defendants were partners in everything they did, in the sense that they treated each other as equals.In the work context, the plaintiffs claimed that the defendants were equals since they looked totally equal at work, having equal-sized offices. Wilkins J rejected t his claim out of hand since he could found not even a scintilla of evidence to support a finding of a partnership between the defendants. He noted that, although the plaintiffs presumed that the defendants were partners, the mere fact that lawyers may be married and behave in an equal social and marital relationship has no impact upon the question of whether they are partners as a matter of law.He held that what is important to this issue is how they conduct their business affairs together, not how they conduct their personal affairs. The plaintiffs’ second claim was that even if Lieberman was not a partner as a matter of law, she allowed herself to be held out as a partner in the firm and therefore should be liable under the Ontario equivalent of s 14(1) of the Partnership Act 1890 since the plaintiffs had relied on this fact. Again the plaintiffs supported their claim of a holding out by the fact that the defendants treated each other as equals in everything they did.The pl aintiffs alleged that they had relied on this holding out of partnership by virtue of the fact that they would not have entrusted all of their savings to Zeller and signed blank documents for him, were it not for his relationship with Lieberman, since this relationship gave Zeller a credibility in their eyes. Again, Wilkins J rejected this claim, finding that the plaintiffs belief that the defendants were partners was ill-founded since the defendant’s social activities was not sufficient to constitute a holding out by Lieberman of herself as a partner.He concluded that since Lieberman was Zeller’s employee as a matter of law and was also not liable as a partner by holding out, the case should proceeded against Zeller alone. _________________________Sharing of Profits by PartnersPartnership agreement – presumption of equality of sharing of profits – s 24 of the Partnership Act 1890 – attempt to vary this ratio without the express consent of all the partners. Joyce v Morrissey [1998] TLR 707.In this case, the English Court of Appeal considered a dispute between the four members of the rock band, The Smiths, regarding the sharing of the band’s profits. Since their inception, the four band members had carried on business as a partnership. In the High Court, it had been held that Joyce, the drummer in the band, was entitled to a quarter share of the profits since under s 24 of the Partnership Act 1890, partners are entitled to an equal share of the profits of the partnership, in the absence of any contrary agreement.The lead singer (Morrissey) and the lead guitarist (Johnny Marr) appealed the High Court decision on the basis that they were the prime movers behind the band and alleged that it had been understood that they would be entitled to 40% of the profits each, with 10% going to the drummer and bass guitarist. They supported their claim by the fact that the group’s accountants, Ossie Kilkenny & Co, had sent acco unts to Joyce showing this split of 40/40/10/10, yet Joyce had made no objection at that time.In the Court of Appeal, Waller LJ (Gibson and Thorpe LJJ, concurring) upheld the High Court’s decision that s 24(1) of the Partnership Act 1890 applied to the facts of the case and consequently that the four band-members were entitled to an equal share of the profits. He held that any change in this profit-sharing ratio could not be achieved by simply sending partnership accounts to one partner and assuming that his silence constituted his acceptance of the new terms.This was particularly so where, as in this case, the partner might not be expected to understand the accounts without some explanation. Waller LJ observed that Morrissey undoubtedly felt that because of the more major contribution which he and Johnnie Marr were making to the band, he ought to be able to dictate the terms on which the partnership continued. With considerable understatement, Waller LJ noted that Morrissey might not have appreciated certain fundamentals of partnership law. ________PARTNERSHIP LAW UPDATEMarch 2000___________________Expulsion of a PartnerExpulsion of two partners from a solicitors’ firm – One resolution passed at a partners’ meeting to expel both partners – Partner to be expelled not entitled to be present at meeting under terms of partnership agreement – Whether partner to be expelled entitled to notice of meeting – Whether two meetings or two resolutions required where there was an expulsion of two partners – Interpretation of the terms of a partnership agreement – Hanlon v Brookes (1997) 15 Australian Company Law Cases 1626.In this case, the Victorian Court of Appeal (Ormiston, Callaway and Batt, JJ) considered the expulsion of two partners from a law firm. Under the terms of the written partnership agreement, a special resolution (ie 75% of the votes) was sufficient to expel a partner and the partnership agreem ent contained a clause which provided that the singular included the plural and vice-versa. The agreement also provided that a partner could vote to expel his co-partner at his absolute discretion and the partner to be expelled was not entitled to be present at the meeting at which the decision was to be taken.However the partnership agreement also provided that a partner was entitled to at least seven days’ notice of a general meeting at which a special resolution was to be passed. The partners in the firm wished to expel Hanlon and Ross since Hanlon’s department, the Property and Probate Department, was not well run and on two occasions he had pocketed executor’s commissions for work done. In Ross’ case, he was the partner in charge of the Litigation Department but his psychological condition prevented him from making court appearances.At a meeting of the partners of the law firm, a single resolution was passed by over 75% of the partners to expel both Hanlon and Ross as partners in the firm. Neither Hanlon nor Ross were present at this meeting, nor had they been given notice of the meeting. Hanlon challenged his expulsion on the grounds that he was not given notice of the meeting. Interestingly, the Court of Appeal did not regard the failure of the partners to accord natural justice to Hanlon as a basis for invalidating the expulsion. Rather the court restricted its decision to the terms of the partnership agreement.It held that the expulsion clause in the partnership agreement was to be strictly interpreted. However, even with such an interpretation, it held that it under the express terms of the agreement, Hanlon was not entitled to be present at the meeting and therefore it concluded that he was not entitled to notice of that meeting or to vote at that meeting. The court also decided that by virtue of the clause which provided for the â€Å"singular to include the plural†, it was possible for more than one partner to be expelled at the one meeting by the passing of a special resolution.This case appears to be the first case in partnership law which confirms that two partners may be expelled by the one resolution. __ _____ Existence of a partnershipPartnership between a number of groups of people in a hotel – One of the groups was a sister and two brothers – Dispute between the sister and brothers regarding the distribution between the three of the profits of the hotel partnership – Whether the relationship between the three regarding their share in the hotel partnership was also a partnership – s 1(1) of the Partnership Act 1890 – Hitchins v Hitchins and Another (1998) NSW Lexis 2382; 47 NSWLR 35.In this case the plaintiff and her two brothers entered into a hotel partnership with a number of other individuals. The hotel property and business was jointly owned by all the hotel partners and the joint share of the three siblings in the hotel partnership was 18%. Th is share of the profit of the hotel partnership was paid to the three Hitchins jointly. A dispute arose amongst the three of them regarding the treatment of these co-owned profits.The plaintiff alleged that the hotel profits should have been divided equally between the three but she alleged that the first defendant had failed to do so. As part of her claim, she alleged that the relationship between the siblings in these co-owned profits, itself constituted a separate partnership between the three of them. As a partnership, she claimed that under partnership law, the three would be required to share these profits equally and that in addition she was entitled to an account of the dealings of this alleged partnership .In the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Bryson J considered s 1(1) of the Partnership Act 1891 (the equivalent of the Partnership Act 1890) which provides that partnership is â€Å"the relation which exists between persons carrying on business in common with a view of p rofit† , s 2(1) of the Partnership Act 1891 (which provides that co-ownership of property does not of itself create a partnership in the property so held) and s 2(2) of the Partnership Act 1890 (which provides that the sharing of gross returns does not of itself create a partnership whether or not the persons have a common interest in the property from which the returns are derived). Relying of these statutory provisions, Bryson J held that the activity of the three, namely investing in a share in the hotel partnership and receiving drawings from it, did not constitute the carrying on of a ‘business in common’. Instead he categorised this activity as simply an investment, since there were no elements of engaging in trade or a flow of transactions which amount to the carrying on of a business.He held that while the three Hitchins were clearly partners in the hotel partnership, they were not partners in a separate partnership of which the business was the joint owne rship of a share in the hotel partnership. Although there was no partnership between the three siblings, Bryson J was able to find for the plaintiff on the grounds that the relationship between the three was a fiduciary. He supported this conclusion on the grounds, inter alia, that they were in a close family relationship and that they were common members of the hotel partnership. On this basis, he relied on the equitable principle that ‘equality is equity’ to hold that the hotel profits should be distributed evenly between the three siblings and he therefore ordered that an account of the distribution of the hotel partnership profits should be taken. _______ _______Liability of partnersLiability of a partner for the actions of his co-partner – Co-partners settle with plaintiff – Action for contribution against concurrent wrongdoers of errant partner – Defence to contribution that co-partners were not originally liable under s 10 of the Partnership Act 1890 – Whether partners liable under s 10 for breach of constructive trust by co-partner -Dubai Aluminium Company Ltd v Salaam and Others [1998] TLR 543. In this case the chief executive of the plaintiff company had conspired with Salaam and his solicitor, Amhurst, to steal $50 million from the plaintiff by using a series of sham contracts.Amhurst was sued on the basis that he had knowingly assisted the chief executive to breach his fiduciary duty. The issue before the court was whether Amhurst’s partners in the law firm were also liable to the plaintiff for their partner’s actions under s 10 of the Partnership Act 1890. Section 10 provides that â€Å"[w]here, by any wrongful act or omission of any partner acting in the ordinary course of business of the firm, or with the authority of his co-partners, loss or injury is caused to any person not being a partner in the firm, or any penalty is incurred, the firm is liable therefor to the same extent as the part ner so acting or omitting to act. During the course of the trial against Amhurst, the partners in his firm had settled with the plaintiff for a payment of $10m. The present action concerned a contribution which these partners sought to this settlement from Salaam and the chief executive of the plaintiff company. However their defence to the action for a contribution was that the partners were not in fact liable to the plaintiff under s 10 of the Partnership Act 1890. This defence was grounded on the claim that Amhurst’s liability was for dishonest assistance which was a liability in constructive trust, while s 10 was concerned with liability in tort or by reason of agency. However in the English High Court,Rix J held that s 10 was expressed in the widest terms, referring to ‘any wrongful omission’ causing ‘loss or injury’ or in the incurring of a penalty. Accordingly, he held that the section extended beyond torts to wrongs such as in this case, acce ssory liability in equity and he therefore allowed the action for contribution. PARTNERSHIP LAW UPDATENovember 2000___________________Post-dissolution ProfitsDeparture of one partner from a law firm – Continuing partners carrying on business without a final settlement with former partner – Post-dissolution profits – Entitlement of former partner to a share of post-dissolution profits attributable to his share of the partnership assets – s 42 of the Partnership Act 1890 – Fry v Oddy [1998] VSCA 26.In this case, the continuing partners in a nine person law firm claimed that their former partner, Oddy, was not entitled to any of the firm’s post-dissolution profits under s 46 of the Partnership Act 1958, the Australian equivalent of s 42 of the Partnership Act 1890. Section 42 provides that where a partner leaves a firm and there is no settlement between him and the continuing partners, the former partner has a right to that share of the profits of the firm which have been made since his departure and which are attributable to his share of the partnership assets. The rationale for the rule is that it provides an incentive for the continuing partners to buy-out the former partner’s share rather than to leave it in the firm.In this case, the continuing partners argued that the post-dissolution profits in the law firm were attributable solely to the skill and exertions of the continuing partners, rather than to the use of Oddy’s share of the partnership assets. The Victoria Court of Appeal (Brooking, Ormiston and Callaway JJ) rejected this argument and held that, after deducting a notional salary for each of the continuing partners’ for their exertions in generating these profits, Oddy was entitled to one ninth of the post-dissolution profits. The court’s reasoning highlights that in determining what share, if any, of the post-dissolution profits are attributable to the former partner’s shar e of the partnership assets, each case depends on its own facts.In particular, in the context of modern professional partnerships, it is interesting to note Brooking J’s statement regarding the use of modern technology in those firms: â€Å"Now the pen has been replaced by the word processor, if not by voice recognition software. The new technology is used both for communication and for management of information and activities. With technological change, no large firm could now prosper without its computer on every desk, its giant photocopiers (themselves a source of revenue), its computer notebooks, its fax machines and answering machines, its mobile telephones and pagers, its dictation equipment, its video conferencing facilities. Its library will be to a considerable extent in electronic format. Its drafting will be done with the aid of artificial intelligence.Its requirements in terms of human resources will range from caterers to librarians. Outsourcing may be used. The firm will need a managing partner or general manager or office manager to carry the cares of the practice. It may be so large that some partners hardly know one another[†¦ ]All this makes the practice of at least the bigger legal firms resemble a manufacturing business, producing and selling at a profit a range of legal and at times related services. † On this basis, the Court of Appeal concluded that all the assets of the partnership contributed to its profits in the sense that they provided the apparatus which enabled the practice to be carried on.Accordingly, when the continuing partners had simply denied that any of the post-dissolution profits were attributable to the use of Oddy’s share of the assets and in particular since the continuing partners had not put forward any other basis for determining what share of the profits might be attributable to the use of Oddy’s share, the court concluded that Oddy was entitled to one ninth of these profits, after account had been taken of a notional salary of AUS$130,000 per partner for the continuing partners’ exertions in generating those profits. ________ _Liability of PartnersLiability of partners for wrong of co-partner – Sexual harassment of employee of partnership – s 10 of the Partnership Act 1890 – Proceedings Commissioner v Ali Hatem. [1999] 1 NZLR 305. In this case, one partner in a garage partnership, who was in charge of the firm’s staffing, was held to have been guilty of the sexual harassment of an employee of the firm. This cases examines the liability of the other partner in the firm for this sexual harassment.Section 13 of the Partnership Act 1908 (the New Zealand equivalent of s 10 of the Partnership Act 1890) provides that â€Å"[w]here, by any wrongful act or omission of any partner acting in the ordinary course of business of the firm, or with the authority of his co-partners, loss or injury is caused to any person not being a partne r in the firm, or any penalty is incurred, the firm is liable therefor to the same extent as the partner so acting or omitting to act. † The act of sexual harassment, which was a statutory tort under the Human Rights Commission Act 1977 in New Zealand, was not part of the ordinary course of business of a garage in a literal sense. However, it was held to be within the meaning of this term in the legal sense, since the partner was acting in the ordinary course of business when he performed this wrongful act. On this basis his co-partners were held liable for this tort.The words of Tipping J are instructive: â€Å"Although sexual harassment cannot be regarded as part of the ordinary course of the firm’s business, we are of the view that, when acting as he did, the perpetrator was acting in the ordinary course of the firm’s business. The first acts of sexual harassment occurred when he was interviewing one of the complainants for a job. There were numerous instance s of sexually loaded remarks[†¦ ]In this case, the perpetrator was doing something within the ordinary course of business of the firm, ie dealing with staff members in the work environment. In so doing, he committed the statutory tort of sexual harassment. He thereby did tortiously something which he was generally authorised to do. The firm is liable for his conduct. ______________________International PartnershipsBreach of duty of care owed by accountancy firm to plaintiff – Accountancy firm was member of national group of accountants throughout Australia – Whether other firms in that association were liable under partnership law to the plaintiff – Section 1(1) of the Partnership Act 1890 – Whether other members of the association were liable as partners by holding out – Section 14(1) of the Partnership Act 1890 – Duke Group Ltd (in liquidation) v Pilmer [1999] SASC 97. In this case, the plaintiff company was involved in a takeover of another company. As part of the takeover process, it commissioned the Australian accountancy firm of Nelson Wheeler (Perth), the first named defendants, to advise on the proposed price for the target company. It was established that this report was negligently prepared in overvaluing the share price of the target company.The plaintiff alleged that Nelson Wheeler Perth were part of a national partnership of which the fifth named defendants, a number of accountancy firms throughout Australia, were the other members. On this basis, the plaintiff alleged that the fifth named defendants were jointly liable with the first named defendants for the damage caused by the negligent valuation report. The relationship between Nelson Wheeler (Perth) and the other accountancy firms was that they were all members of Nelson Wheeler National. This was an association of accountancy firms throughout Australia, whereby all the member firms referred business to other member firms throughout Australia. In addition, Nelson Wheeler Perth and the other firms described themselves as a ‘national partnership’ and as a ‘national firm’ in their letterheads and advertising material.Nonetheless, the Supreme Court of South Australia (Doyle CJ, Duggan and Bleby JJ) held that the members of this national association did not in fact carry on business in common as required by s 1(1) of the Partnership Act 1891 (the equivalent of s 1(1) of the Partnership Act 1890). In particular, it was held that this association operated primarily as a means of referring business between firms in different parts of Australia. It did not thereby constitute the member firms partners with each other, since they all carried on practice in their locations and did not share fees or profits (except in a limited way in relation to work referred between them). The court also noted that the relationship of partnership cannot be created by persons simply stating that a partnership exists.The court noted that although there were substantial benefits to be gained by the association of the firms, crucially there was never any intention of deriving profits from any common business. Rather this association resembled a club, the intention being that the members would benefit by work referrals, sharing of client lists and the sharing of costs, but this was not an association where the members were carrying on business in common as required by the definition of partnership. The plaintiff also alleged that the fifth named defendants were liable on the basis of a holding out under s 14 of the Partnership Act 1891 (the equivalent of s 14 of the Partnership Act 1890).The Supreme Court of South Australia accepted that the members of Nelson Wheeler National allowed themselves to be generally represented as partners of each other. However, to establish partnership by estoppel, there must be a representation to the claimant that a particular person or persons is a partner. It is not sufficie nt for the plaintiff to simply rely on the fact that Nelson Wheeler indicated in its valuation report that it was a member of a national partnership. The court held that this was not a sufficient representation under s 14 since the persons purportedly held out, ie the fifth named defendants, were neither named or identified. On this basis, the court held that there was no liability on the fifth named defendants on the basis of holding out.PARTNERSHIP LAW UPDATEFebruary 2001___________Liability of firm for partner’s actsAuthority of a partner to bind his firm – Bare assurance by partner to third party that within the ordinary course of business – s 5 of the Partnership Act 1890 – Hirst v Etherington and Another [1999] TLR 546. In this case, Etherington, a partner in a law firm, was acting for the borrower of money from a bank. He gave an undertaking to the bank guaranteeing the loan. The bank’s solicitor requested and received confirmation from Ethe rington that this undertaking was given in the ordinary course of the business of the firm. When the loan was not paid by the client, the bank sued Etherington’s partner, as Etherington had been adjudicated bankrupt.Section 5 of the Partnership Act 1890 provides that â€Å"[e]very partner is an agent of the firm and his other partners for the purpose of the business of the partnership; and the acts of every partner who does any act for carrying on in the usual way business of the kind carried on by the firm of which he is a member bind the firm and his partners, unless the partner so acting has in fact no authority to act for the firm in the particular matter, and the person with whom he is dealing either knows that he has no authority, or does not believe him to be a partner. † The Court of Appeal held that it was not within the ordinary course of business of a solicitor, without more, to give a guarantee to a third party regarding a debt incurred by a client. The que stion under s 5 was whether a reasonably careful and competent lender would have concluded that there was an underlying transaction of a kind which was part of the usual business of a solicitor.It was not open to the lender to accept the bare assurance of the partner that the undertaking was within the ordinary course of business of the firm. Accordingly, Etherington’s partner was held not to be liable on the undertaking. ___________ _______Existence of a Partnership Parties agree to establish a partnership – Partnership business is then conducted through company – Action brought under s 205 of the Companies Act 1963 by plaintiff – Plaintiff also alleges that partnership exists as separate and anterior to shareholding in company – Partnership action brought by plaintiff against other two partners for injunction restraining dissipation of assets of partnership business and damages for breach of contract – Horgan v Murray and Milton High Court , unreported, 17 December 1999.This case concerned the long running dispute between three shareholders in Murray Consultants Limited. In addition to bringing an action against his two fellow shareholders under company law, the plaintiff brought a partnership action against them in which he sought an injunction restraining them from dissipating the assets of the business of the partnership and damages for breach of contract. His partnership action was based on the fact that when the parties initially decided to start a public relations business, it was agreed to establish a partnership. However, it was then agreed that the partnership business would be conducted through the medium of a company (Murray Consultants Limited).The relationship between the three broke down and in addition to seeking company law remedies, the plaintiff alleged that the three were in partnership together, a partnership which existed independently of and was anterior to the setting up of the company. The defe ndants denied that there was such a separate partnership and relied in part on s 1(2) of the Partnership Act 1890 which states that â€Å"the relation between members of any company or association which is registered as a company[†¦]is not a partnership within the meaning of this Act. † O’Sullivan J struck out the plaintiff’s statement of claim on the basis that the three parties agreed that their public relations business would be conducted through the medium of a company and this was entire of their relationship and there was no other relationship between the three which could constitute a partnership.He relied in part on the High Court judgment of Murphy J in Crindle Investments v Wymes [1998] 4 IR 567 at 576 that where it was held that â€Å"the undertaking was conceived and consciously promoted in the form of a company incorporated under the Companies Act, 1963, and it was the requirements of that legislation which governed the relationship between th e parties†. __________________Partnership PropertyPartnership property – Whether an asset could be partnership property if it is incapable of assignment – Section 20 of the Partnership Act 1890 – Don King Productions v Warren [1999] 2 All ER 218. In this case, the question arose as to whether the benefit of non-assignable choses in action could be transferred to a partnership.The action involved a partnership that was formed between the well-known boxing promoters Don King and Frank Warren for the promotion of boxing in Europe. Following a dispute between the parties the partnership was dissolved. However, their partnership agreement had provided that each was to assign to the partnership certain boxing promotion contracts to which they were separately a party. However, these contracts were promotion contracts that had been entered into by Don King and Frank Warren respectively with various boxers. Each of these contracts was for personal services and cont ained non-assignment provisions and therefore could not be assigned.In the English High Court ([1998] 2 All ER 608), Lightman J held that effect could be given to their agreement in equity as a declaration of trust of those contracts for the benefit of the partnership and in this way the contracts were held to be partnership property. Section 20 of the Partnership Act 1890 deals with partnership property and it provides that â€Å"[a]ll property and rights and rights and interests in property originally brought into the partnership stock or acquired, whether by purchase or otherwise, on account of the firm, or for the purposes and in the course of the partnership business, are called in this Act partnership property, and must be held and applied by the partners exclusively for the purposes of the partnership and in accordance with the partnership agreement. Frank Warren appealed on the grounds that the boxing promotion contracts were not property within the meaning of s 20 of the P artnership Act 1890 and even if they were, they could not be ‘brought into the partnership stock’ or â€Å"acquired[†¦]on account of the firm† so as to become partnership property within the terms of s 20. The Court of Appeal rejected this appeal and held that property which was not capable of assignment could still be partnership property for the purposes of s 20 of the Partnership Act 1890. In addition, Frank Warren had claimed that boxing promotion contracts concluded by him and Don King between the time of the dissolution and the winding up of the partnership were not partnership property. This argument was also rejected by the Court of Appeal, which held that such contracts were also to be held on trust for the partnership. __________Claim for court interest on sums owed to deceased partnerPartnership at will – Dissolution of partnership by the death of a partner – Claim for court interest on sums owing to the deceased partner’s est ate – Section 42 of the Partnership Act 1890 – Williams v Williams, English High Court, unrep, 16 July 1998. In this case a partnership at will existed between a father and his son. The partnership was automatically dissolved by the death of the father pursuant to the terms of s 33(1) of the Partnership Act 1890 (â€Å"Subject to any agreement between the partners, every partnership is dissolved as regards all the partners by the death or bankruptcy of any partner†. Under s 42 of the Partnership Act 1890, a deceased partner’s estate is entitled to that share of the firm’s post-dissolution profits which are attributable to the deceased’s share of the partnership assets or to interest at the rate of five per cent per annum on the amount of his share of the partnership assets since the dissolution. The father’s personal representative brought an action under s 42 of the Partnership Act 1890. However, he also sought court interest pursuan t to s 35A of the Supreme Court Act 1981. Maddocks J held that the claim for court interest could not properly be formulated since interest was already running at the rate of five per cent under s 42 of the Partnership Act 1890. He held that the sum which was found to be due to the estate should carry interest at the rate of five per cent per annum from the date of dissolution to the date of payment.PARTNERSHIP LAW UPDATEMay 2001: ________ ___ _______Liability of a Partnership for Partner’s ActionsLiability of a firm for the actions of a partner – Section 10 of the Partnership Act 1890 – Assault by a partner in law firm on another solicitor in precincts of courthouse and in the courtroom – Whether the first assault was within the ordinary course of business of the firm – Whether the second assault was within the ordinary course of business of the firm – Flynn v Robin Thompson & Partners and Wallen, The Times, 14 March 2000. This case involve d the application of the rules on the liability of a partner for the actions of his co-partner. Under s 10 of the Partnership Act 1890 a firm is liable for the acts or omissions of a partner that are committed in the ordinary course of business of the firm. The plaintiff, John Flynn, was a solicitor and he took an action against the law firm of Robin Thompson & Partners for damages as a result of an assault which he suffered.The facts were that Thomas Wallen was a solicitor and a partner in the firm of Robin Thompson & Partners and he was conducting litigation on behalf of a client of his firm. Representing the other litigant in the case was the plaintiff. The original case in which the two solicitors were involved became fairly heated, so much so that on the steps of the court there was a scuffle between them and there was an assault by Wallen on Flynn. Even more amazing was the fact that while Wallen was presenting his case to the court, it appears that Flynn tried to take papers from Wallen and it was alleged that Wallen assaulted Flynn in his attempt to prevent him taking his papers.Flynn took an action for damages against both Wallen and against his firm on the basis that the firm was liable for the actions of Wallen since they were committed during the ordinary course of business of the firm. The English Court of Appeal considered the two alleged assaults under s 10 of the Partnership Act 1890. As regards the assault in the precincts of the court, it was held that the assault by Wallen was so extraordinary and so far removed from the ordinary conduct of an advocate that it could not be within the ordinary course of business of the firm and therefore the firm was not liable under s 10 of the Partnership Act 1890 for this assault. As regards the minor scuffle in the court, the issue was less clear cut as to whether this was outside the ordinary course of business of the firm.However on procedural grounds (i. e. on the principle of ‘proportionalityâ⠂¬â„¢ under para 1. 3. 5 of the UK Civil Procedure Rules (October 1999)), it was held that this second assault should not go to trial. In an interesting article on this case in the Journal of Criminal Law (2000) at p 368 the argument is made in relation to the minor scuffle that all Wallen was doing was representing his firm’s interest and surely his co-partners would expect him not to allow the other side take his papers without a fight. On this basis it is argued in the article that the court should have held that the assault in the court was within the firm’s ordinary course of business. _______ ___ ____Joint and Several Guarantee by PartnersPartners in property development – One partner also had substantial personal debts to Bank – Bank obtained guarantee from partners for the repayment of loans to the Bank – Wording of guarantee was such that partners were guaranteeing both their joint obligations to the bank and their several obligations â₠¬â€œ AIB Group v Martin and another [2000] 2 All ER (Comm) 686. The first defendant, Mr Martin, was a property developer and the second defendant, Gold, was a dentist. They bought a number of rental properties in partnership together as an investment. Funding for the properties was obtained from the plaintiff bank. Mr Martin was also involved in a number of other property deals and he had a significant level of personal borrowings from the bank in respect of these other ventures.The Bank re-structured their financing to the partnership and as part to the restructuring, the Bank entered into a mortgage with Mr Martin and Mr Gold. This deed was between the Bank of the one part and Mr Martin and Mr Gold of the other part. Mr Martin and Mr Gold were defined in the deed as the ‘Mortgagor’ and the deed also provided that where the term ‘Mortgagor’ referred to more than one person, it was to be construed as referring to all and/or any of those persons and that the obligation of those persons was to be construed as joint and several. The deed went on to provide that the Mortgagor would, inter alia, pay all other indebtedness of the Mortgagor to the Bank.It became apparent that Mr Gold had signed this deed without appreciating that he was assuming liability for the personal debts of Mr Martin, as well as the debt owing by the partnership to the Bank. In the Court of Appeal, the claim that this deed should not be interpreted so as to make Mr Gold liable for the personal obligations of Mr Martin to the Bank was rejected unanimously, Sedley LJ noting that â€Å"if I could be persuaded that there was any intellectually respectable way of relieving Mr Gold of the liability with which he has been burdened, I would at least have to hear†¦why we should not adopt it†¦.. With regret, I agree that this appeal has to fail. ________ ____Post –dissolution claims between Partners Lease held by partners in trust for partnership – Inde mnity from all the partners in favour of trustees – Partnership dissolved – Action by trustees against partner for rent under terms of indemnity – Whether this debt could be set-off against amounts which might be owed to partner once partnership account on dissolution had been taken. Hurst v Bryk and others [2000] 2 WLR 740. The plaintiff, Hurst, was a partner in a firm of solicitors. The firm carried on business from leasehold premises held by four partners as trustees for the partnership. The partnership deed provided that the trustees were entitled to an indemnity from the partnership in respect of their liability for rent under the lease. In 1990 the partnership was dissolved but the premises were not disposed of until 2000.In 1997 the trustees of the lease served a statutory demand on Hurst for his share of the rent under the indemnity. At this stage, although the partnership had long since been dissolved, the partnership accounts had not yet been finalised between the former partners. On this basis, Hurst sought to set aside the statutory demand under the United Kingdom’s Insolvency Rules 1986 (r 6. 5(4)(a)). He claimed that the statutory demand should be set aside since he had a counterclaim which would exceed the amount of the statutory demand. In the High Court, Ferris J dismissed Hurst’s claim on the grounds that it was unlikely that on the taking of the full partnership accounts it would be found that a balance was due to Hurst.Ferris J also held that the trustees' claim against Hurst was under the indemnity and not in their capacity as partners so that his claim against them as trustees lacked the necessary mutuality for a counterclaim or cross-demand. Hurst appealed. The appeal was dismissed by the Court of Appeal. It was held that until the final partnership account was drawn up it could not be said that there would or might be a balance in favour of the plaintiff which would be due from the trustees as partners . In addition, there was no prospect of the account being taken in the foreseeable future, if at all, and accordingly there was no triable issue resulting from the plaintiff's cross-demand which would justify setting aside the demand. In addition, the Court of Appeal considered the mutuality issue.It held that mutuality was lacking because the debt on which the statutory demand was based was one to which the trustees alone were entitled whereas the proposed cross-claim would be against all the partners jointly. _________December 2001________ ______Breach of Constructive Trust by PartnerLiability of a partner for the actions of his co-partner – Co-partners settle with plaintiff – Action for contribution against concurrent wrongdoers of errant partner – Defence to contribution that co-partners were not originally liable under s 10 of the Partnership Act 1890 – Whether partners liable under s 10 for breach of constructive trust by co-partner -Dubai Aluminium Company Ltd v Salaam and Others [2000] 3 WLR 910.In this case the chief executive of the plaintiff company had conspired with Salaam and his solicitor, Amhurst, to steal $50 million from the plaintiff by using a series of sham contracts. Amhurst was sued on the basis that he had knowingly assisted the chief executive to breach his fiduciary duty. The issue before the court was whether Amhurst’s partners in the law firm were also liable to the plaintiff for their partner’s actions under s 10 of the Partnership Act 1890. Section 10 provides that â€Å"[w]here, by any wrongful act or omission of any partner acting in the ordinary course of business of the firm, or with the authority of his co-partners, loss or injury is caused to any person not being a partner in the firm, or any penalty is incurred, the firm is liable therefor to the same extent as the partner so acting or mitting to act. † During the course of the trial against Amhurst, the partners in his firm had settled with the plaintiff for a payment of $10m. The present action concerned a contribution which these partners sought to this settlement from Salaam and the chief executive of the plaintiff company. However their defence to the action for a contribution was that the partners were not in fact liable to the plaintiff under s 10 of the Partnership Act 1890. This defence was grounded on the claim that Amhurst’s liability was for dishonest assistance which was a liability in constructive trust, while s 10 was concerned with liability in tort or by reason of agency.In the English High Court, Rix J held that s 10 was expressed in the widest terms, referring to ‘any wrongful omission’ causing ‘loss or injury’ or in the incurring of a penalty. Accordingly, he held that the section extended beyond torts to wrongs such as in this case, accessory liability in equity and he therefore allowed the action for contribution. This judgment was appealed to the C ourt of Appeal where it was reversed. The Court of Appeal agreed with Rix J that s 10 of the Partnership Act 1890 extended to all wrongs and not just torts. However, on the facts of the case, the court held that the actions of Amhurst were not ‘within the ordinary course of business’ of the firm and therefore the partners in the firm were not liable therefor.Mr Amhurst had taken a very active part in planning and instigating a dishonest scheme whereby the plaintiff company would be defrauded of large sums of money, including drafting sham agreements. The Court of Appeal held that there was no evidence to suggest that Amhurst’s partners authorised him to act as he did and as it was not part of the ordinary business of a firm to plan and draft sham agreements, these actions were not binding on the firm. Evans LJ argued that as vicarious liability under s 13 of the Partnership Act 1890 requires notice on the part of the partners in question, it would be anomalous if a partner was to be vicariously liable for the accessory liability of a partner who was a constructive trustee for giving knowing assistance to a breach of trust or fiduciary duty where there is no notice.The result would have been different according to Evans LJ if the firm’s clients had not been involved in the breach of fiduciary duty in question. Aldous LJ held that if Amhurst’s involvement had been restricted to drafting agreements, his actions would have been within the ordinary course of business of the firm. However, his role was to plan, draft and sign sham agreements which were known to be dishonest and this was not within the ordinary course of business of a firm. The participants in the scam were not his clients or clients of the firm. These wrongdoers could not have believed that Mr Amhurst was acting with the apparent authority of his partners, because they knew him to be acting dishonestly.On this basis the Court of Appeal held that the ‘innocentà ¢â‚¬â„¢ partners would not have been held liable to the plaintiff for Mr Amhurst’s actions and therefore they were not entitled to claim a contribution from the Salaam and the chief executive in respect of the sum which they had paid in settlement of the plaintiff’s claim against them for vicarious liability for the actions of Mr Amhurst. _____________ _____Breach of Trust by PartnerBreach of trust by a partner – Solicitors’ partnership – Liability of firm for breach – Whether partner acting in the ‘ordinary course of business’ – Wwhether firm liable – Section 10 of the Partnership Act 1890 – Walker and others v Stones and others [2000] 4 All ER 412. This case involved an action for breach of trust against Mr Stones, a trustee. Unlike the case of Dubai Aluminium Co Ltd v Salaam [2000] 3 WLR 910, this case did not involve a constructive trust, but rather a situation where a partner in a law firm agreed to bec ome a trustee of a family trust.When this partner allegedly breached this trust by benefiting the father who set up the trust, rather than the beneficiaries of the trust,, the issue arose as to whether his partners were vicariously liable for the alleged breach of trust. In the Court of Appeal, Sir Christopher Slade considered sections 10-13 of the Partnership Act 1890 as they apply to breaches of trust. On the one hand, s 10 of the Partnership Act 1890 provides that a firm is liable for the wrongs committed by a partner in the ordinary course of business of the firm, while on the other hand s 13 of the Partnership Act 1890 deals with breaches of trust by a partner. This latter section provides that where a partner is a trustee, liability does not attach to his co-partners if there is a breach of trust unless the co-partners have notice of the breach of trust.On this basis, Sir Christopher Slade concluded that s 13 deals with a situation where a partner agrees to be a trustee (a tru stee partner) while s 10 would apply to a situation where a partner, not already being a trustee, conducts himself as an accessory to a breach of trust so as to constitute himself a constructive trustee. Section 13 assumes that the individual trusteeship which a partner undertakes is not something undertaken in the ordinary course of business of the firm, since otherwise it would be inconsistent with s 11 (which provides for the firm to be liable where there is a misapplication of property received by a firm or a partner where the property is received within the ordinary course of business of the firm. He thus concluded that s 10 had no application to breaches of trust committed by a partner, who agrees to be a partner (a trustee partner) since the legislature assumed in drafting the Partnership Act 1890 that breaches of trust committed by a trustee partner fell outside the ordinary business of a partnership and therefore did not give rise to liability on the part of the firm, under s 10. He observed that sections 10-13 of the Partnership Act 1890 applied to all partnerships, and not just solicitors’ partnerships, and for this reason one should not be surprised that individual trusteeship by a partner was not within the ordinary course of business of a firm. On this basis, he held that the innocent partners in the law firm could not be vicariously liable for the alleged breach of trust by Mr Stones under s 10 nor under s 13, since the innocent partners were not aware of the alleged breach. __ ______Duty of Care between PartnersNegligence by partner in law firm causing loss to client – Also causes financial loss to his co-partners since they are liable to pay excess on insurance policy – Whether negligent partner owes duty of care to his co-partners – Ross Harper & Murphy v Banks Outer House, Court of Session, Scotland, unrep, 11 May 2000. The defendant had been a partner in the plaintiff firm. He had negligently advised a client of the firm in relation to a conveyancing transaction and the firm had been successfully sued by the client for the damages caused by this negligence. The firm’s insurance policy covered the firm’s liability in this regard, save for the excess of ? 20,000 which had to be paid by the partners in the firm. The partners in the plaintiff firm now wished to recover this excess from the defendant partner.They claimed that they were owed a duty by the defendant that he would exercise reasonable care in his duties as a partner so as not to expose the partnership to claims for professional negligence, which he had breached by not examining the title of the property in this case with sufficient care. In view of the limited authority on this area, this was an important judgment by Lord Hamilton. He concluded that a â€Å"partner may in certain circumstances be liable in damages to his firm (and secondarily to his co-partners) for loss sustained by reason of liability incurred to a third party and these circumstances are not restricted to those where the offending partner has been responsible for fraudulent or illegal activity; the duty extends, in my view, to a duty of care†¦. In the absence of clear and binding authority I favour a standard which requires the exercise of reasonable care in all the relevant circumstances.Those circumstances will include recognition that the relationship is one of partnership (which may import some mutual tolerance of error), the nature of the particular business conducted by that partnership (including any risks or hazards attendant on it) and any practices adopted by that partnership in the conduct of that business†¦. In respect of liabilities incurred by the firm to a third party, it is, however, important to notice that breach of a duty of reasonable care to the third party will not of itself import a breach by the â€Å"delinquent† partner of his obligation to the firm. † For this reason, the court held that the issue should be put out for a hearing by order on further procedure. | |