At least six months before the Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, a group made up of Stafford Fontenot, Steve Turner, Mike Montelaro, Joe Sokol, and Doug Brinsmade agreed to sell Cajun food at the games and began making preparations. On May 19, the group (calling themselves Prairie Cajun Seafood Catering of Louisiana) applied for a business license with the county health department.

Ted Norris sold members of the group a mobile kitchen in return for an $8,000 check drawn on the “Prairie Cajun Seafood Catering of Louisiana” account and two promissory notes, one for $12,000 and the other for $20,000. The notes, which were dated June 12, listed only Fontenot “d/b/a Prairie Cajun Seafood” as the maker (d/b/a is an abbreviation for “doing business as”).

On July 31, Fontenot and his friends signed a partnership agreement, which listed specific percentages of profits and losses. They drove the mobile kitchen to Atlanta, but business was disastrous. When the notes were not paid, Norris filed a suit in a Louisiana state court against Fontenot, seeking payment.

1. The first group will discuss the elements of a partnership and determine whether there was a partnership among Fontenot and the others.

2. The second group will determine who can be held liable on the notes and why.

3. The third group will discuss the concept of “d/b/a,” or

“doing business as.” Does a person who uses this designation when signing checks or promissory notes avoid liability on the checks or notes?