Illinois Courts Provide Requirements For A Joint Venture or Partnership to Exist
Illinois courts have held that for a partnership or joint venture to exist a written agreement may not be required as long as specific requirements are satisfied. The Uniform Partnership Act defines a partnership as “an association of two or more persons to carry on as co-owners of a business for profit." 805 ILCS 205//6(1) (West 2002). “A relationship between two or more parties may be considered a partnership by the courts if the parties join together to carry on a venture for their common benefit, each contributing property or services and having a community of interest in the profits of the venture." Kennedy v. Miller, 221 Ill.App.3d 513, 521, 163 Ill Dec. 934, 582 N.E.2d 200 (1991). “Partnership legal principles govern joint ventures and the only distinction of consequence between the two is that a joint venture relates to a single enterprise or transaction, whereas a partnership relates to a general business of a particular kind.” Dremco, Inc. v. South Chapel Hill Gardens, Inc., 274 Ill.App.2d 534, 538, 211 Ill.Dec. 39, 654 N.E.2d 501 (1995). Even though a written agreement may not be necessary, a bald assertion that a partnership or joint venture exists is not sufficient to plead the existence of such a relationship. Romanek, 324 Ill.App.3d at 405, 257 Ill.Dec. 436, 753 N.E.2d 1062. Therefore, the courts generally look for some sign of a venture for common benefit between the two parties and in particular for some indication of a sharing of profits. Landers-Scelfo v. Corporate Office Systems, Inc., 356 Ill.App.3d 1060, 827 N.E.2d 1051, 293 Ill.Dec. 170 (2005).
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