Also known as: hold out · holds out · held out · holding-out · ostensible partner · holding oneself out
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
3 senses
Conduct by which a person purports to be a partner or consents to being represented as a partner. The conduct creates liability to third parties who reasonably rely on the representation and enter a transaction with the actual or purported partnership.
Public conduct by which a couple presents themselves to the community as married. The conduct, together with consent and cohabitation, satisfies one element required to establish a valid common law marriage.
Open conduct by which an individual treats a child as the individual's own child. The conduct, when combined with residence in the same household for the first two years of the child's life, creates a presumption that the individual is a legal parent.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
Conduct by which a person purports to be a partner or consents to being represented as a partner. The conduct creates liability to third parties who reasonably rely on the representation and enter a transaction with the actual or purported partnership.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Harmony Retail permitted its marketing director to distribute cards listing her as a partner and to negotiate supplier contracts. A vendor relied on the cards and extended credit to the firm. When the firm defaulted, the vendor sued the marketing director personally. The court held her liable because her consent to the representation induced the transaction.
Highland Steel listed its operations manager on its website as a partner and allowed him to sign purchase orders. A supplier reviewed the site and extended terms. After default, the supplier sued the manager. The court imposed liability because the public representation induced the credit transaction.
No. Limited partner status alone does not create agency or personal liability. Liability arises only when the limited partner separately holds herself out as a general partner and a third party reasonably relies on that representation.
Supporting sources
The third party must show a representation that the person was a partner, reasonable reliance on that representation, and entry into a transaction with the actual or purported partnership that caused harm.
Supporting sources
Public conduct by which a couple presents themselves to the community as married. The conduct, together with consent and cohabitation, satisfies one element required to establish a valid common law marriage.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Hazel Hoffman and Henry Harrison lived together for three years. They used a shared last name on mail, maintained a joint bank account, and introduced themselves as spouses at neighborhood events. When Henry later denied the marriage, Hazel sought recognition of common law marriage. The court found the public holding out satisfied the element.
Holly Hayes and Hunter Hughes posted family photos captioned with marital language and wore matching rings at community gatherings. When Holly sought dissolution rights, Hunter argued no marriage existed. The court found the consistent public presentation met the holding-out requirement.
Using a common last name, maintaining joint accounts, introducing each other as spouses, and maintaining a community reputation as married all qualify. The conduct must be public and consistent rather than limited to private settings.
Supporting sources
Yes. Courts require a consistent reputation across contexts. Private disclaimers that contradict public appearances can prevent the element from being satisfied even when the couple appears married in professional or community settings.
Supporting sources
Open conduct by which an individual treats a child as the individual's own child. The conduct, when combined with residence in the same household for the first two years of the child's life, creates a presumption that the individual is a legal parent.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
After the child's birth, Hannah Hughes resided with the child and the birth mother for twenty-six months. She enrolled the child in daycare under her surname, attended parent-teacher conferences, and told relatives the child was hers. When a genetic donor later sought to establish parentage, the court applied the presumption in Hannah's favor.
Hana Huang lived with the child from birth and listed herself as parent on school forms and medical releases. After two years she sought custody when the birth mother moved away. The court recognized the presumption because the open holding out and cohabitation were established.
The individual must reside in the same household with the child for the first two years of the child's life and openly hold the child out as the individual's own. Shorter periods do not satisfy the statutory requirement.
Supporting sources
…(Sept. 9, 2009). The Government thus, by its own position, contributes to the uncertainty that §441b causes. When the Government holds out the possibility of ruling for Citizens United on a narrow ground yet refrains from adopting that position, the added uncertainty demonstrates the necessity to address the question of…
…allocation of resources. Permitting repeated litigation of the same issue as long as the supply of unrelated defendants holds out reflects either the aura of the gaming table or 'a lack of discipline and of disinterestedness on the part of the lower courts, hardly a worthy or wise basis for fashioning rules of…
…NCS' interests by negotiating with NCS' creditors. Those negotiations suggested no regard for NCS' stockhold
…sell, possesses with intent to sell, advertises, or displays for sale anything specially designed to terminate a pregnancy, or held out by the actor as useful for that purpose, commits a misdemeanor, unless: (a) the sale, offer or display is to a physician or druggist or to an intermediary in a chain of distribution to…
…appellant’s family relations, and it is inconceivable that a more improper motive for terminating such relations could be