PARTNERSHIPS - Relations of partners to one another - Dissolution

Law360 Canada ( November 1, 2023, 6:37 AM EDT) -- Claim by plaintiff for sum of money for work performed and reimbursement for materials ordered from suppliers on the plaintiff’s account plus interest. The plaintiff provided consulting services and supervised the electrical work for a cannabis facility project of the Pit River Tribe. However, the authorities raided the facility and pursued a related criminal investigation. The plaintiff had been paid for most of its work up to the time of the raid. Payments ceased following the raid. The plaintiff had no written contract with the defendant and never interacted with the defendant at all in respect of the project. The plaintiff dealt with a man named Rami Reda (Reda) who acted as the de facto project manager on the site. It was agreed that the defendant was the source of funds used to pay for the plaintiff’s services before the payments stopped. The plaintiff claimed that Reda and the project lawyers acted as the defendant’s agents, that Reda had the authority to bind the defendant, and that the defendant and the Tribe were partners in the project. The defendant argued that he loaned the money to the Tribe to build the cannabis facility, that he never authorized Reda to enter into contracts on his behalf and that he merely financed the project and was not bound by any contract the plaintiff made with the Tribe or anyone else. At issue was the defendant’s role in the project and his consequent liability....