Can I buy out my partner with a suit of partition?

A friend and I purchased a home in Texas as an investment, but by the 5th year of ownership we had a couple of bad tenants and the home was in need of repair. By the 5th year my "friend" had ruined his credit and couldn't afford his half of the cost to repair the property. In addition, he failed to provide any help with labor which I performed to save money. He won't buy out for a reasonable cost. And we are upside down on what we owe to what it's worth, because of the current housing market. I know I can file a partition of suit, but I've put a lot of money into this home and want to keep it as an investment property till atleast the market turns and I can see a profit. We don't have a contract with each other on who is responsible for what. Since we have been friends since middle school I didn't think I would need one. And now he is beginning to harass the tenants to send him the rent checks and threatening to evict them if they don't. In addition, he has removed (without permission or notice to me) all the money from the bank account that we use to pay the mortgage. I have opened a new account and I'm depositing rent money into that account to keep from ruining my credit. This is a duplex with separate legals for each side, but both sides were purchased as one loan. Is there anyway to keep the property and get rid of the "friend"?