# County Court Rules (Northern Ireland) 1981, Rule 1: Partners may sue and be sued in name of their firm

Extent: N.I.

(1) Two or more persons claiming or alleged to be liable as partners and carrying on business within Northern Ireland may sue and be sued in the name of the firm in which they were partners when the cause of action arose.
(2) Where partners sue or are sued in the name of their firm in accordance with this Rule, a statement that the plaintiffs are suing or the defendants are sued as a firm shall be included in the civil bill and in the title of the action.
(3) Where partners sue or are sued in the name of their firm, the partners shall, on demand made in writing by or on behalf of any other party, forthwith deliver to the party making the demand a statement of the names and places of residence of all the persons constituting the firm.
(4) If the partners fail to comply with the demand, [ the judge or district judge as the case may be] may, on application by any other party, order them to furnish and verify by oath or otherwise a statement of the names and places of residence of the persons who were partners in the firm when the cause of action arose.
(5) If the partners fail to comply with the order, [ the judge or district judge as the case may be] may—
(a) if the partners are plaintiffs, direct the proceedings to be stayed until the order is complied with;
(b) if the partners are defendants, order that they be debarred from defending the action.
(6) When the names and places of residence of the partners have been stated, proceedings shall continue in the name of the firm.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/1981/225/part/39/rule/1 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/county-court-rules-northern-ireland-1981/part-39/rule-1
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.