Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Forms to have Judge order Defendant to do accounting

Is it a general partnership or a limited partnership? The following answer assumes it is the former, but the principles are not too different.

If you are a plaintiff in a case which is currently on file with a California court and has been duly served on the defendant(s), the next questions would be (1) are you representing yourself, or do you have an attorney, and (2) what causes of action have been pleaded and what specific relief has been requested in the suit?

In my experience, it is usual in a partnership dispute to request an accounting as one of the causes of action in the complaint itself. The plaintiff can allege entitlement to one under, for example, Corporations Code section 16404(b)(1). See also 16807(b).

I believe a party to a suit seeking a court-ordered or court-administered windup of a partnership could make a motion to the court for an accounting, or appointment of a receiver, if this could be shown necessary to obtaining some other relief sought in the suit, such as dissolution. There might be a form in some copyrighted compilation of suggested forms for attorney use, but there is no form adopted by the Judicial Council for general use; it would be a "create-your-own" kind of motion, which would have to be calendared, noticed and served on the parties. One could also amend the complaint to include a cause of action for accounting, but this can get very complex.

In some cases, the judge might order an accounting on the court's own initiative or following a party's informal suggestion in open court.

I will check a few references and get back to you if I find anything further of interest.

Re: Forms to have Judge order Defendant to do accounting

A short follow-up. Without doing more research than is reasonable on a freebie, I'm led to the conclusion that a cause of action asking for an accounting should be part and parcel of any suit for dissolution of a partnership, or for any other remedy besides or in addition to dissolution that essentially questions the financial affairs of the partnership and its financial treatment of the plaintiff partner.

I did not find any case suggesting that a court can, on its own motion, order an accounting because it feels one is necessary before it can give other relief (such as a dissolution order), but it still seems possible that this would be within the court's powers, especially if the other relief requested would reasonably place the defendant on notice of the probable need for an accounting.

The same general reasoning would apply to a motion made by the plaintiff; I think failure to include a cause of action for accounting in the complaint leaves granting or denying a plaintiff motion for an accounting up to the judge's discretion, the issue being whether due process requires that the relief requested be included in the complaint.

In sum, the demand for an accounting should have been in the original complaint. It may possibly be obtainable on motion, but you should also consider an amendment to the complaint or an amended complaint. I'll bet this omission was due to self-representation, or using a lawyer who doesn't do much partnership law.

Re: Forms to have Judge order Defendant to do accounting

You will need to file a lawsuit for an accoutning. You may have other causes of action. We can help you with the lawsuit. Please call us if you have any questions.