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General Partners.

D.C. Code div. V, tit. 29, ch. 7, subch. IV
in effect

D.C. Code § 29-704.01 Becoming general partner.

29-704.01. Becoming general partner. (a) A person becomes a general partner: (1) Upon formation of a limited partnership, as agreed among the persons that are to be the initial partners; and (2) After formation: (A) As provided in the partnership agreement; (B) Under § 29-708.01(3)(B) following the dissociation of a limited partnership’s last general partner; (C) As the result of a merger under subchapter X of this chapter or a transaction under Chapter 2 of this title; or (D) With the consent of all the partners. (3) As the result of a merger under subchapter X of this chapter or a transaction under Chapter 2 of this title; or (4) With the consent of all the partners. (b) A person may become a general partner without: (1) Acquiring a transferable interest; or (2) Making or being obligated to make a contribution to the partnership. (July 2, 2011, D.C. Law 18-378, § 2, 58 DCR 1720; Mar. 5, 2013, D.C. Law 19-210, § 2(g)(4)(A), 59 DCR 13171.)

D.C. Code § 29-704.02 General partner agent of limited partnership.

29-704.02. General partner agent of limited partnership. (a) Each general partner shall be an agent of the limited partnership for the purposes of its activities and affairs. (b) An act of a general partner, including the signing of a record in the partnership’s name, for apparently carrying on in the ordinary course the limited partnership’s activities or affairs or activities or affairs of the kind carried on by the limited partnership shall bind the limited partnership, unless the general partner did not have authority to act for the limited partnership in the particular matter and the person with which the general partner was dealing knew, had received a notification, or had notice under § 29-701.03(d) that the general partner lacked authority. (c) An act of a general partner which is not apparently for carrying on in the ordinary course the limited partnership’s activities or affairs or activities or affairs of the kind carried on by the limited partnership shall bind the limited partnership only if the act was actually authorized by all the other partners. (July 2, 2011, D.C. Law 18-378, § 2, 58 DCR 1720; Mar. 5, 2013, D.C. Law 19-210, § 2(g)(4)(B), 59 DCR 13171.)

D.C. Code § 29-704.03 Limited partnership liable for general partner’s actionable conduct.

29-704.03. Limited partnership liable for general partner’s actionable conduct. (a) A limited partnership shall be liable for loss or injury caused to a person, or for a penalty incurred, as a result of a wrongful act or omission, or other actionable conduct, of a general partner acting in the ordinary course of activities or affairs of the limited partnership or with authority of the limited partnership. (b) If, in the course of the limited partnership’s activities or affairs or while acting with authority of the limited partnership, a general partner receives or causes the limited partnership to receive money or property of a person not a partner, and the money or property is misapplied by a general partner, the limited partnership shall be liable for the loss. (July 2, 2011, D.C. Law 18-378, § 2, 58 DCR 1720; Mar. 5, 2013, D.C. Law 19-210, § 2(g)(4)(C), 59 DCR 13171.)

D.C. Code § 29-704.04 General partner’s liability.

29-704.04. General partner’s liability. (a) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this section, all general partners shall be liable jointly and severally for all debts, obligations, and other liabilities of the limited partnership unless otherwise agreed by the claimant or provided by law. (b) A person that becomes a general partner of an existing limited partnership is not be personally liable for a debt, obligation, or other liability of a limited partnership incurred before the person became a general partner. (c) A debt, obligation, or other liability of a limited partnership incurred while the limited partnership is a limited partnership, whether arising in contract tort, or otherwise, and that is incurred while the limited partnership is a limited liability partnership, is solely an obligation of the limited partnership. A general partner shall not be personally liable, directly or indirectly, by way of contribution or otherwise, for such debt, obligation, or other liability solely by reason of being or acting as a general partner. This subsection shall apply despite anything inconsistent in the partnership agreement that existed immediately before the consent required to become a limited liability limited partnership under § 29-704.06(b)(2). (d) The failure of a limited liability limited partnership to observe formalities relating to the exercise of its powers or management of its activities and affairs is not a ground for imposing liability on a general partner of the limited liability limited partnership for a debt, obligation, or liability of the partnership. (e) An amendment of a certificate of limited partnership which deletes a statement that the limited partnership is a limited liability limited partnership does not affect the limitation in this section on the liability of a general partner for a debt, obligation, or other liability of the limited partnership incurred before the amendment became effective. (July 2, 2011, D.C. Law 18-378, § 2, 58 DCR 1720; Mar. 5, 2013, D.C. Law 19-210, § 2(g)(4)(D), 59 DCR 13171.)

D.C. Code § 29-704.05 Actions by and against partnership and partners.

29-704.05. Actions by and against partnership and partners. (a) To the extent not inconsistent with § 29-704.04, a general partner may be joined in an action against the limited partnership or named in a separate action. (b) A judgment against a limited partnership shall not by itself be a judgment against a general partner. A judgment against a limited partnership shall not be satisfied from a general partner’s assets unless there is also a judgment against the general partner. (c) A judgment creditor of a general partner shall not levy execution against the assets of the general partner to satisfy a judgment based on a claim against the limited partnership, unless the partner is personally liable for the claim under § 29-704.04 and: (1) A judgment based on the same claim has been obtained against the limited partnership and a writ of execution on the judgment has been returned unsatisfied in whole or in part; (2) The limited partnership is a debtor in bankruptcy; (3) The general partner has agreed that the creditor need not exhaust limited partnership assets; (4) A court grants permission to the judgment creditor to levy execution against the assets of a general partner based on a finding that limited partnership assets subject to execution are clearly insufficient to satisfy the judgment, that exhaustion of limited partnership assets is excessively burdensome, or that the grant of permission is an appropriate exercise of the court’s equitable powers; or (5) Liability is imposed on the general partner by law or contract independent of the existence of the limited partnership. (July 2, 2011, D.C. Law 18-378, § 2, 58 DCR 1720.)

D.C. Code § 29-704.06 Management rights of general partner.

29-704.06. Management rights of general partner. (a) Each general partner shall have equal rights in the management and conduct of the limited partnership’s activities and affairs. Except as expressly provided in this chapter, any matter relating to the activities and affairs of the limited partnership may be exclusively decided by the general partner or, if there is more than one general partner, by a majority of the general partners. (b) The consent of each partner shall be necessary to: (1) Amend the partnership agreement; (2) Amend the certificate of limited partnership to add or, subject to § 29-710.06, delete a statement that the limited partnership is a limited liability limited partnership; and (3) Sell, lease, exchange, or otherwise dispose of all, or substantially all, of the limited partnership’s property, with or without the good will, other than in the usual and regular course of the limited partnership’s activities. (c) A limited partnership shall reimburse a general partner for payments made and indemnify a general partner for liabilities incurred by the general partner in the ordinary course of the activities of the partnership or for the preservation of its activities or property. (d) A limited partnership shall reimburse a general partner for an advance to the limited partnership beyond the amount of capital the general partner agreed to contribute. (e) A payment or advance made by a general partner which gives rise to an obligation of the limited partnership under subsection (c) or (d) of this section shall constitute a loan to the limited partnership which accrues interest from the date of the payment or advance. (f) A general partner shall not be entitled to remuneration for services performed for the partnership. (July 2, 2011, D.C. Law 18-378, § 2, 58 DCR 1720; Mar. 5, 2013, D.C. Law 19-210, § 2(g)(4)(E), 59 DCR 13171.)

D.C. Code § 29-704.07 Right of general partner and former general partner to information.

29-704.07. Right of general partner and former general partner to information. (a) A general partner, without having any particular purpose for seeking the information, may inspect and copy during regular business hours: (1) In the limited partnership’s principal office, required information; and (2) At a reasonable location specified by the limited partnership, any other records maintained by the limited partnership regarding the limited partnership’s activities and financial condition. (b) Each general partner and the limited partnership shall furnish to a general partner: (1) Without demand, any information concerning the limited partnership’s activities and activities reasonably required for the proper exercise of the general partner’s rights and duties under the partnership agreement or this chapter; and (2) On demand, any other information concerning the limited partnership’s activities, except to the extent the demand or the information demanded is unreasonable or otherwise improper under the circumstances. (c) Subject to subsection (e) of this section, on 10 days’ demand made in a record received by the limited partnership, a person dissociated as a general partner may have access to the information and records described in subsection (a) of this section at the location specified in subsection (a) of this section if: (1) The information or record pertains to the period during which the person was a general partner; (2) The person seeks the information or record in good faith; and (3) The person satisfies the requirements imposed on a limited partner by § 29-703.04(b). (d) The limited partnership shall respond to a demand made pursuant to subsection (c) of this section in the same manner as provided in § 29-703.04(c). (e) If a general partner dies, § 29-707.04 shall apply. (f) The limited partnership may impose reasonable restrictions on the use of information under this section. In any dispute concerning the reasonableness of a restriction under this subsection, the limited partnership shall have the burden of proving reasonableness. (g) A limited partnership may charge a person dissociated as a general partner that makes a demand under this section reasonable costs of copying, limited to the costs of labor and material. (h) A general partner or person dissociated as a general partner may exercise the rights under this section through an attorney or other agent. Any restriction imposed under subsection (f) or by the partnership agreement shall apply both to the attorney or other agent and to the general partner or person dissociated as a general partner. (i) The rights under this section shall not extend to a person as transferee, but the rights under subsection (c) of this section of a person dissociated as a general may be exercised by the legal representative of an individual who dissociated as a general partner under § 29-706.03(7)(B) or (C). (July 2, 2011, D.C. Law 18-378, § 2, 58 DCR 1720.)

D.C. Code § 29-704.08 General standards of general partner’s conduct.

29-704.08. General standards of general partner’s conduct. (a) The only fiduciary duties that a general partner shall have to the limited partnership and the other partners are the duties of loyalty and care under subsections (b) and (c) of this section. (b) A general partner’s duty of loyalty to the limited partnership and the other partners shall be limited to the following: (1) To account to the limited partnership and hold as trustee for it any property, profit, or benefit derived by the general partner in the conduct and winding up of the limited partnership’s activities or derived from a use by the general partner of limited partnership property, including the appropriation of a limited partnership opportunity; (2) To refrain from dealing with the limited partnership in the conduct or winding up of the limited partnership’s activities as or on behalf of a party having an interest adverse to the limited partnership; and (3) To refrain from competing with the limited partnership in the conduct or winding up of the limited partnership’s activities. (c) A general partner’s duty of care to the limited partnership and the other partners in the conduct and winding up of the limited partnership’s activities shall be limited to refraining from engaging in grossly negligent or reckless conduct, intentional misconduct, or a knowing violation of law. (d) A general partner shall discharge the duties to the partnership and the other partners under this chapter or under the partnership agreement and exercise any rights consistently with the obligation of good faith and fair dealing. (e) A general partner shall not violate a duty or obligation under this chapter or under the partnership agreement merely because the general partner’s conduct furthers the general partner’s own interest. (f) All the partners of a limited partnership may authorize or ratify, after full disclosure of all material facts, a specific act or transaction by a general partner that otherwise would violate the duty of loyalty. (g) It is a defense to a claim under subsection (b)(2) of this section and any comparable claim in equity or at common law that the transaction was fair to the limited partnership. (h) If, as permitted by subsection (f) of this section or the partnership agreement, a general partner enters into a transaction with the limited partnership which otherwise would be prohibited by subsection (b)(2) of this section, the general partner’s rights and obligations arising from the transaction are the same as those of a person that is not a general partner. (July 2, 2011, D.C. Law 18-378, § 2, 58 DCR 1720; Mar. 5, 2013, D.C. Law 19-210, § 2(g)(4)(F), 59 DCR 13171.)

D.C. Code § 29-704.09 Reimbursement, indemnification, advancement, and insurance.

29-704.09. Reimbursement, indemnification, advancement, and insurance. (a) A limited partnership shall reimburse a general partner for any payment made by the general partner in the course of the general partner’s activities on behalf of the partnership, if the general partner complied with §§ 29-704.06, 29-704.08, and 29-705.09 in making the payment. (b) A limited partnership shall indemnify and hold harmless a person with respect to any claim or demand against the person and any debt, obligation, or other liability incurred by the person by reason of the person’s former or present capacity as a general partner, if the claim, demand, debt, obligation, or other liability does not arise from the person’s breach of § 29-704.06, [§ ] 29-704.08, or [§ ] 29-705.09. (c) In the ordinary course of its activities and affairs, a limited partnership may advance reasonable expenses, including attorney’s fees and costs, incurred by a person in connection with a claim or demand against the person by reason of the person’s former or present capacity as a general partner, if the person promises to repay the partnership if the person ultimately is determined not to be entitled to be indemnified under subsection (b) of this section. (d) A limited partnership may purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of a general partner against liability asserted against or incurred by the general partner in that capacity or arising from that status even if, under § 29-701.07(b)(6), the partnership agreement could not eliminate or limit the person’s liability to the partnership for the conduct giving rise to the liability. (Mar. 5, 2013, D.C. Law 19-210, § 2(g)(4)(G), 59 DCR 13171.)
Source: Council of the District of Columbia (code.dccouncil.gov)URL: https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/titles/29/chapters/7/subchapters/IVFetched: 10/21/2026

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