Keywords: Partnerships, Final Judgments, Impact on Partners, Limited Liability Companies, Exceptio Litis Malae Gestae, Companies’ Representation, Ultra Vires, Joint and Several Liability.
The essay deals with final judgments involving claims against a partnership and takes into
account their impact on partners who have not been sued by the creditor. Then it analyses
the same problem from the perspective of limited liability companies and also single-member
corporations. The aim is to prove the fallacy of Italian case law, especially where it does not
allow any objection by the shareholder although the company representative has adopted a
defective line of defense in the trial against the creditor. In this context the essay explores
the general legal framework of joint and several liability – with regard to the effects of final
judgments – and the special liability of shareholders for the debts of a lawyers’ partnership.