In re Keck, Mahin & Cate
United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois
274 B.R. 740 (2002)
After law firm Keck, Mahin & Cate (Keck) (debtor) went through involuntary bankruptcy converted to chapter 11, the plan administrator (creditor) sued former partners Barbara Billauer and Thomas Ho'okano (debtors), seeking to hold them jointly and severally liable for Keck's debts arising while they were partners; Billauer and Ho'okano argued the claims didn't accrue until after they had already withdrawn from the partnership, and that a newly formed successor partnership had assumed all of Keck's debts, including these claims, when they withdrew.
Whether a withdrawn partner remains liable for wrongful acts or omissions of other partners that occurred while he or she was still a partner, or whether that liability can be discharged simply by the partnership dissolving and a successor partnership assuming its debts.