River City Ranches #1 Ltd., Leon Shepard, Tax Matters Partner - Page 70

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               Specific partnership property is a distinct category of                 
          property, separate from a partner’s interest in the partnership.             
          Stilgenbaur v. United States, supra.  A partner’s personal                   
          property interest in the partnership grants the partner a right              
          to his share of profits and surplus, not an ownership interest to            
          any particular portion of the partnership assets.  Comstock v.               
          Fiorella, 260 Cal. App. 2d 262, 265, 67 Cal. Rptr. 104, 106                  
          (1968).  Contrary to petitioners’ assertion, under California and            
          Nevada partnership law, the partners do not jointly own the                  
          partnership assets.  Therefore, petitioners’ argument fails to               
          establish a theft on the partnership level.                                  
               The arguments presented by petitioners fail to recognize the            
          legal distinction between a partnership and its partners.  Thus              
          their claim that a theft from the partners is a theft from the               
          partnerships is without merit and unsupported by the law.                    
                    (iii) Petitioners’ Claim That a Theft Occurred                     
                              Under State Law                                          
               Petitioners assert that Jay Hoyt’s criminal acts, for which             
          he was convicted under Federal law in Oregon, constitute theft               
          under similar Oregon statutes.  Namely, Oregon Revised Statutes              
          (ORS):  (1) Section 164.085, theft by deception; (2) section                 
          164.170, laundering a monetary instrument; and (3) section                   
          164.172, engaging in a financial transaction in property derived             








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