We granted certiorari in Aaron Rents, Inc. v. Fourteenth Street Venture, L. P., 243 Ga. App. 746 533 SE2d 759 2000, and Accolades Apts., L. P. v. Fulton Cnty., 242 Ga. App. 214 528 SE2d 268 2000,1 to resolve a conflict between them concerning whether real property titled in the name of a “joint venture” is to be treated as partnership property and therefore beyond the reach of judgment creditors of individual members of the “joint venture.” We find that, in certain circumstances, it can be.
In Accolades, the real property at issue was owned by Consolidated Equities Corporation prior to 1987, when Consolidated Equities executed a warranty deed to “Accolades Apartments Joint Venture, a joint venture composed of John Hancock Insurance Company and Consolidated Equities Corporation.” After that transfer, various judgment and tax liens arose against Consolidated Equities Corporation. The property was later transferred to Accolades Apartments, L. P., and thereafter was condemned for a road project. The condemnation proceeds were sought by Accolades Apartments, L. P., and the holders of those judgment and tax liens against Consolidated Equities Corporation which arose after the 1987 conveyance. The trial court ordered the proceeds dispersed to certain of the lien holders, and the Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that any partnership status that might have been asserted by “Accolades Apartments Joint Venture, a joint venture composed of John Hancock Insurance Company and Consolidated Equities Corporation,” or its successors, was irrelevant to the question of dispersal. The Court of Appeals reasoned that because a joint venture is not a legal entity separate from those parties that compose it, and no partnership status was revealed in the conveyance to the joint venture, there was no notice in the deed record of any partnership status, and therefore the liens against Consolidated Equities attached to the property even though it was titled in the name of “Accolades Apartments Joint Venture, a joint venture composed of John Hancock Insurance Company and Consolidated Equities Corporation.” See Accolades, supra.
