Law Commons^™

Discouraging Forum Shopping By Properly Implementing The Entity Theory Of Partnerships, John T. Stinson

John T Stinson Jr.

This note analyzes a decision by the Court of Appeals of Maryland wherein the court properly applied the "entity theory" of partnership advanced by contemporary uniform partnership acts. This theory keeps the partnership viable as a business form because it creates a limited existence for the entity itself, apart from its constituent members. As applied to issues of jurisdiction, the entity theory means that a partnership is no longer subject to suit in any forum where a constituent member is subject to suit. This provides greater protection to partnerships from being haled into fora distant from their centers of operation. …