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Court of Chancery Denies Inspection of Partnership Records

Posted In LP Agreements

Madison Real Estate Immobilien-Anlagegesellschaft Beschrankt Haftende KG v. KanAm USA XIX LP, C.A. 2863-VCP (Del. Ch. May 1, 2008)

This case sets out the law governing the right to inspect a limited partnership's records, particularly in the context of a possible tender offer. Delaware law draws a distinction between seeking inspection to determine the value of one's interest in the partnership and seeking inspection for purposes of making a tender offer. In the later case, inspection may be denied as not being for a purpose truly related to acting as a partner, but instead as an acquiror. While one might argue this distinction is too fine a line to draw, that is the law for now.

The opinion is also noteworthy for dealing with how to interpret a partnership agreement's contractual right to inspect. As the opinion points out, the right to inspect "books of account" is not as broad as the right to inspect "books and records."

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