Short answer. Article 1809 gives any partner the right to a formal account in four situations: if wrongfully excluded from the business or possession of its property, if the right exists under an agreement, in the situation covered by Article 1807, or whenever other circumstances make it just and reasonable.
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; (2) If the right exists under the terms of any agreement; (3) As provided by article 1807; (4) Whenever other circumstances render it just and reasonable.
Civil Code, Article 1809 — Right to a Formal Account. Read the full provision →
What the law says
Every partner must account to the partnership for any benefit, and hold as trustee for it any profits derived by him without the consent of the other partners from any transaction connected with the formation, conduct, or liquidation of the partnership or from any use by him of its property.
Civil Code, Article 1807 — Partner as Trustee of Benefits. Read the full provision →
Wrongful exclusion by co-partners
The first ground in Article 1809 is being wrongfully excluded from the partnership business or possession of its property by his co-partners. A partner shut out of participation, or denied access to partnership property, without a valid basis for that exclusion, can demand a formal account under this ground — the exclusion itself is what triggers the right, independent of any separate agreement about accounting.
A right created by agreement
The second ground is simply if the right exists under the terms of any agreement. Where the partners have already agreed — in the partnership agreement or elsewhere — that a formal account can be demanded under certain terms, that agreement itself is enough to support the right. Article 1809 does not override or limit what the partners have already arranged between themselves on this point.
The situation Article 1807 addresses
The third ground is as provided by article 1807, which requires every partner to account to the partnership for any benefit, and hold as trustee for it any profits derived by him without the consent of the other partners from any transaction connected with the formation, conduct, or liquidation of the partnership or from any use by him of its property. Where a partner has taken an undisclosed benefit this way, Article 1809 gives the other partners the right to demand a formal accounting of it.
The open-ended fourth ground
The final ground is broader than the first three: whenever other circumstances render it just and reasonable. This does not require a specific triggering event like wrongful exclusion or an undisclosed benefit — it lets a court or the partners themselves recognize that, given the whole situation, demanding a formal account is fair. Because it is open-ended, what actually satisfies this ground depends entirely on the specific facts of a given partnership dispute.
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 →
Related provisions
- Civil Code, Article 1809 — Right to a Formal Account
- Civil Code, Article 1807 — Partner as Trustee of Benefits