Two cases during 2007 aptly illustrated the need for joint venturers to carefully document their relationship — in particular, whether fiduciary duties apply between the parties as they would in a partnership. The Cleardocs Team at Maddocks

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In Farah v Say-Dee, the High Court appeared to assume that fiduciary duties applied to the relationship — despite the parties having agreed that it was a joint venture.

In ASIC v Citigroup, the Victorian Supreme Court confirmed that parties can expressly 'contract out' of fiduciary duties — including in documents such as joint venture agreements.

These cases remind practitioners that they cannot rely on the assumption that fiduciary duties do not apply to joint venturers — even so, express contractual terms can address the issues adequately.

For a more detailed summary of the cases and the differences between partnerships and joint ventures, see our full article here.