Claim for a partnership settlement payment

Legal nature of partnership settlement payment

When there are multiple debtors, the amount a creditor can claim from each debtor differs greatly depending on whether it is a divided debt or a joint and several debt.

For example, if two debtors owe a total of 100,000,000 Korean won to a creditor, in the case of a divided debt with equal shares, the creditor can claim up to 50,000,000 Korean won from each debtor, whereas in the case of a joint and several debt, the creditor can claim the full 100,000,000 Korean won from one debtor with sufficient assets.

In such a case, if one debtor pays the full amount, they can exercise a right of recourse against the other debtor for their share.

When three people run a business together and one withdraws and settles the partnership, unless there is a special agreement, it is considered a divided debt, and the withdrawing partner can only seek the settlement payment within the limit of the remaining partners' shares. However, if the remaining partners promised to pay the settlement jointly and severally, the withdrawing partner can claim the full settlement amount from one partner with sufficient assets.

Recently, there was a case where a client who had not received a partnership settlement payment was able to hold the two remaining partners jointly and severally liable with the assistance of lawyer Joo Youngjae. I will introduce this case.

Facts

The plaintiff (the client) entered into a partnership agreement for a fitness center with the defendants A and B around 2019 and invested 100,000,000 Korean won. Shortly after starting business under the plaintiff's name, a dispute arose among the partners, and the plaintiff declared withdrawal from the partnership. Afterwards, in a partnership settlement agreement, the defendants promised to pay the plaintiff 110,000,000 Korean won as a settlement payment, but there was no explicit agreement on the amount each defendant would bear.

Subsequently, the plaintiff transferred the business registration to C designated by the defendants and withdrew from the partnership, but after receiving only 50,000,000 Korean won from defendant A, the plaintiff did not receive the remaining settlement payment and came to lawyer Joo Youngjae.

Assistance of lawyer Joo Youngjae

When lawyer Joo Youngjae sought payment of 60,000,000 Korean won jointly and severally from the defendants, defendant A argued that the debt was already fulfilled by paying 50,000,000 Korean won to the plaintiff, and defendant B argued that he was merely an employee and not a partner.

In response, lawyer Joo Youngjae submitted phone call recordings and KakaoTalk messages between the plaintiff and defendant B, as well as statements from employees, to prove that defendant B was a partner, and proved through conversations between the plaintiff and defendants A and B that the obligation to pay the settlement was a joint and several debt, not a divided debt.

Court decision

The court fully accepted lawyer Joo Youngjae's arguments and ruled that defendants A and B jointly and severally pay the plaintiff 60,000,000 Korean won, a complete win for the plaintiff.