solution

The decision in this case clearly describes the purpose and expectations associated with a partnership. For the defendants to have succeeded in this case, partnership duties would have to consist only of those laid out in explicit contract form. The act of forming a partnership in and of itself, however, includes by law certain expectations.

 1. What facts would have to have existed for the defendants to be granted summary judgment? Clue: What does the court say at the start of its final paragraph?

 2. The defendants are assuming that the duties of the partners to the business association are something about which the parties to the agreement must negotiate. What does the court mean in this regard when it says the duties are “imposed by law”? Clue: Once a partnership agreement is signed, does the very fact of its existence as a partnership mean that certain duties exist?