Short answer. Yes, if it is stated in the certificate. Under Article 1855, where there are limited partners, the members may agree that one or more shall have priority over the others as to the return of contributions. But the agreement must be stated in the certificate; absent that statement, all the limited partners stand on equal footing.
What the law says
the members may agree that one or more of the limited partners shall have a priority over other limited partners as to the return of their contributions
Civil Code, Article 1855 — Priority Among Limited Partners. Read the full provision →
Priority can be agreed
By default, limited partners in a firm are equals, but Article 1855 lets them arrange otherwise. Where there are several limited partners the members may agree that one or more of the limited partners shall have a priority over other limited partners as to the return of their contributions, as to their compensation by way of income, or as to any other matter. So the limited partners need not all rank the same. One can be given first claim on the return of his capital, or a preferred position on income, or priority on some other point, by agreement.
It must be in the certificate
The freedom to rank limited partners comes with a strict formality. If such an agreement is made it shall be stated in the certificate. A priority is not enough to agree privately among the partners; it has to appear in the public certificate of the limited partnership. The reason is transparency: the certificate is what outsiders and other partners rely on to know the terms, and a hidden priority would let some limited partners quietly outrank others who had no way to know.
Silence means equality
The article states the default plainly: in the absence of such a statement all the limited partners shall stand upon equal footing. So if the certificate says nothing about priority, no limited partner outranks another. They share the return of their contributions and their income on the same level — no one first, no one last. This is the fallback the law imposes when the partners have not spoken, or have not spoken in the right place. It cuts both ways: a limited partner who was promised priority but finds it absent from the certificate cannot claim it, and a limited partner who feared being subordinated is safe if no priority was properly stated. Equality is the rule unless the certificate displaces it.
If priority matters to you
If you are structuring a limited partnership and want to offer some investors a preferred rank — first return of capital, say, or a preferred income — you can, but you must put it in the certificate, precisely and completely, or it will not hold. And if you are a limited partner being told you have priority, check the certificate: the promise counts only if it is stated there. Where the certificate is silent, assume you rank equally with the other limited partners, and do not rely on side assurances. The certificate, not the conversation, is what fixes who comes first.