Assessment of partnership agreement disputes and resolution strategies

Partnership agreement can be described as a voluntary contract between two or more parties towards the accomplishment of a mutual goal or objective. In most cases, a partnership agreement is the legal and written agreement between partners in a business. However, in some situations, a partnership agreement is an oral agreement where terms are implied upon the parties with no written document. Notably, the oral partnership agreement is still enforceable like the written one despite the absence of a written document. This implies that a partnership agreement does not necessarily need to be written in order to be effective. One of the most important considerations to make when entering an oral partnership agreement is how any conflicts would be resolved while ensuring each party fulfills his/her respective role in the contract. For instance, a partner is disputing an already established partnership agreement whose terms are still the same but there is no written document. The resolution of this dispute is important to ensure that the partners do not suffer from any loses emerging from the conflict, especially because the terms were just implied on the partners.

Governance of Partnerships:

One of the most important things to consider when resolving the dispute in the oral partnership agreement is the general ways in which partnership agreements are governed. Generally, partnerships are governed by the specific terms and rules established by the parties and the respective state laws in which the partnership is organized. Notably, the governance of partnership agreements is mainly based on the rules set forth by the partners (Spadaccini, 2005). This is primarily because the rules of governance set out by the parties tend to differ from those set by state law. As a result, the rules of the partnership agreements that are set by the parties tend to override state law. However, rules in state law are considered as default provisions that are applicable in cases where there is the absence of any governance rules set by parties in a partnership agreement.

Therefore, my first step in resolving the dispute from my partner in the contract is to examine the governance rules set out when making partnership agreement. As previously mentioned, there rules will provide the basis for understanding the nature of the dispute and the plan of actions to resolve it. If there were no governance rules in the partnership agreement, I would examine the provisions of state law to determine the appropriate course of action for resolving the dispute. During these considerations, the main aim of examining the partnership's governance rules or provisions of state law would be to resolve the conflict in a manner that is beneficial for both partners.

Plan of Action:

Since the terms of the partnership agreement are implied among partners but with no written document, it seems like the partnership agreement has governance rules that could help in resolving the dispute. Therefore, I would examine the dispute resolution measures that were agreed upon in the partnership and talk to my partner about them. I will share these agreements with by partner in order to demonstrate the significance of abiding by the terms of the partnership agreement. During this process, I will notify the partner of the various dispute resolution mechanisms that were set out when entering the agreement.

According to Levy (2013), partnership agreements usually seek for alternative dispute resolution such as mediation or arbitration. This would be my second course of action if the impasse still remains in the partnership agreement. I will seek for alternative dispute resolution in attempts to enforce the oral partnership agreement through forcing the partner to fulfill his/her specific role in the agreement. The alternative dispute resolution will help in examining the existence, validity, breach, and termination of the partnership agreement. This will be an independent and external party who will help both partners understand the interpretations of the terms in the oral partnership agreement and probable courses of action in case of breach of the mutually established terms. Notably, the mediator or arbitrator in the alternative dispute resolution mechanism will be appointed through an agreement with the partner. The involvement of both parties in this decision would help in selecting a mediator and arbitrator that is considered as free and fair.

The third and final course of action for resolving the dispute in the partnership agreement between me and my partner is going to court. This action will only be considered if the first two options have not been effective in solving the dispute. While the court may not compel my partner to comply with the terms of the partnership agreement, it will provide the basis for me to have an action for damages against the disputing partner. In order to demonstrate that there was a partnership agreement between us, I will provide evidence to the court that a deal was struck. This will mainly involve showing the court that my partner acted in ways that comply with the terms of the agreement before the dispute arose. This will be followed by provision of any correspondence between the two parties such as emails, receipts, faxes, memos, and letters (Hartline, 2007). This process will also involve demonstrating potential damages that could occur if the partner does not fulfill his role in the agreement.