Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft v. Beasley
Florida Court of Appeal
728 So. 2d 253 (1998)
When the law firm Cadwalader (defendant) decided to close its unprofitable Palm Beach office, it told partner Beasley (plaintiff), an established local estate-planning attorney with deep South Florida ties, that he could either relocate to Washington or New York or accept a severance package to leave the firm — options that were impractical given his established local practice. Beasley sued for fraud and breach of fiduciary duty; the trial court found Cadwalader had anticipatorily breached the partnership agreement by effectively expelling Beasley without any expulsion provision in the agreement, awarding over $2.5 million including punitive damages, and Cadwalader appealed, arguing Beasley voluntarily withdrew by declining relocation.
Whether, under the Uniform Partnership Act, a partnership may expel a partner absent dissolution of the firm or a specific expulsion provision in the partnership agreement.