Muddied Waters: A Review of Joint Venture Jurisprudence in Missouri

Nearly four decades ago, the Supreme Court of Missouri issued an opinion that continues to generate confusion on what constitutes a joint venture. Johnson v. Pacific Intermountain Express Co. not only distorted the elements required to establish a joint venture but also provided for the business organization’s wrongful creation by operation of law through implication.1 Upon this shaky foundation, corporate law jurisprudence in Missouri has grappled for decades with the same essential questions of what constitutes a joint venture and how this species of partnership may come into existence