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firm's ordinary business, at least in the absence of a contrary | partnership agreement. |
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| | Section 301(1) effects two changes from UPA Section 9(1). | First, it clarifies that a partner's apparent authority includes | acts for carrying on in the ordinary course "business of the kind | carried on by the partnership," not just the business of the | particular partnership in question. The UPA is ambiguous on this | point, but there is some authority for an expanded construction | in accordance with the so-called English rule. See, e.g., Burns | v. Gonzalez, 439 S.W.2d 128, 131 (Tex. Civ. App. 1969) (dictum); | Commercial Hotel Co. v. Weeks, 254 S.W. 521 (Tex. Civ. App. | 1923). No substantive change is intended by use of the more | customary phrase "carrying on in the ordinary course" in lieu of | the UPA phrase "in the usual way." The UPA and the case law use | both terms without apparent distinction. |
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| | The other change from the UPA concerns the allocation of risk | of a partner's lack of authority. RUPA draws the line somewhat | differently from the UPA. |
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| | Under UPA Section 9(1) and (4), only a person with knowledge | of a restriction on a partner's authority is bound by it. | Section 301(1) provides that a person who has received a | notification of a partner's lack of authority is also bound. The | meaning of "receives a notification" is explained in Section | 102(d). Thus, the partnership may protect itself from | unauthorized acts by giving a notification of a restriction on a | partner's authority to a person dealing with that partner. A | notification may be effective upon delivery, whether or not it | actually comes to the other person's attention. To that extent, | the risk of lack of authority is shifted to those dealing with | partners. |
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| | On the other hand, as used in the UPA, the term "knowledge" | embodies the concept of "bad faith" knowledge arising from other | known facts. As used in RUPA, however, "knowledge" is limited to | actual knowledge. See Section 102(a). Thus, RUPA does not | expose persons dealing with a partner to the greater risk of | being bound by a restriction based on their purported reason to | know of the partner's lack of authority from all the facts they | did know. Compare Section 102(b)(3) (notice). |
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| | With one exception, this result is not affected even if the | partnership files a statement of partnership authority containing | a limitation on a partner's authority. Section 303(f) makes | clear that a person dealing with a partner is not deemed to know | of such a limitation merely because it is contained in a filed | statement of authority. Under Section 303(e), however, all | persons are deemed to know of a limitation on the authority of a |
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