WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.—Recently, a dispute in North Carolina Business Court led a judge to closely examine the rights of individual members of a general partnership compared to rights of members of a limited partnership. Judge Gregory McGuire noted that the rights of limited partners in conflict with other limited partners are more clearly defined than partnership disputes in general partnerships.
Brent Powell, a Womble Carlyle litigation attorney with extensive experience in the N.C. Business Court, discussed those issues with North Carolina Lawyers Weekly. He said the judge’s opinion will help North Carolina lawyers resolve future conflicts among both general and limited partners.
“Judge McGuire clearly gave a lot of thought to the issues and even raised questions that didn’t apply to the facts of this case but which could become an issue later,” Powell tells North Carolina Lawyers Weekly. “He leaves the door open on some of the thornier issues, like what happens if a third equal partner doesn’t agree to the suit, and didn’t go further than he needed to. But there’s a lot to think about here.”
Click here to read “General Partnerships Aren’t Limited Partnerships, and It Matters” in North Carolina Lawyers Weekly.
Brent Powell focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation. Powell represents clients in a wide array of industries, including health care, commercial lending, real estate, pharmaceuticals, furniture, higher education, manufacturing, and telecommunications. He has experience advising media outlets in First Amendment and news-gathering issues. Powell practices in Womble Carlyle’s Winston-Salem office.