Short answer. Yes. Article 1809 gives any partner the right to a formal account of partnership affairs if he is wrongfully excluded from the partnership business or possession of its property by his co-partners. This right does not depend on the partnership first being dissolved; wrongful exclusion is enough on its own.
What the law says
Any partner shall have the right to a formal account as to partnership affairs: (1) If he is wrongfully excluded from the partnership business or possession of its property by his co-partners
Civil Code, Article 1809 — Right to a Formal Account. Read the full provision →
Wrongful exclusion alone triggers the right
Article 1809 states that any partner shall have the right to a formal account as to partnership affairs: (1) If he is wrongfully excluded from the partnership business or possession of its property by his co-partners. Nothing in this first ground requires that the partnership be dissolved first. If your co-partners have genuinely locked you out of the business and denied you access to partnership property without justification, that wrongful exclusion by itself entitles you to demand a formal accounting of the partnership's affairs while the partnership is still ongoing.
Why an ongoing partnership does not stand in the way
A formal accounting is a mechanism for a partner to find out what is actually happening with partnership property, income, and dealings, which is precisely what wrongful exclusion prevents a partner from monitoring on their own. Requiring dissolution before allowing an accounting would leave an excluded partner with no remedy for exactly the harm the exclusion causes, being kept in the dark about a business they remain a partner in. Article 1809 avoids that gap by making wrongful exclusion its own independent basis for demanding an account, separate from any of the article's other three grounds.
The other grounds for a formal accounting
The same article lists three further situations where a formal account may be demanded: where the right exists under the terms of any agreement between the partners, where article 1807 applies to a partner who must account for benefits or profits held in trust for the partnership, and whenever other circumstances render an accounting just and reasonable. These additional grounds show that the law does not treat a formal accounting as an extraordinary remedy reserved only for a partnership winding down; it is available whenever fairness among partners calls for one.
What 'wrongful' exclusion means here
The right under this ground depends on the exclusion actually being wrongful, meaning without a valid basis recognized by the partnership agreement or the general rules governing partners' rights. If your co-partners had some legitimate ground under your agreement to restrict your access, the analysis could differ. But being locked out and denied access to partnership property without such a basis is exactly the kind of exclusion Article 1809 addresses, and it gives you standing to demand the accounting regardless of whether anyone has moved to dissolve the partnership.
Cases citing this provision
These Supreme Court decisions cite the provision above. We list them so you can read them yourself; the summaries of what each decided are not ours to give.
- Marjori Tocao and William T. Belo vs. Court of Appeals and Nenita A. Anay, G.R. No. 127405, October 4, 2000 — read the decision on LawPhil →