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Limited Liability Company (LLC) Alter Ego

Allen Matkins

Nevada Supreme Court Clarifies Alter Ego Liability Of LLC Members

Allen Matkins on

Laura Graham was injured when she tripped over a sprinkler box located on property owned by a single member limited liability company.  She sued the LLC and asserted that its member was the alter ego of the LLC and the case...more

Patton Sullivan Brodehl LLP

Does an LLC’s Bankruptcy Discharge Apply to the LLC’s Alter Egos?

When a debtor LLC receives a discharge order from a bankruptcy court, a creditor is prevented from enforcing any preexisting debts against the discharged LLC as a personal liability.  This is known as the “discharge...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

You Can Be Personally Liable For Withdrawal Liability Despite A Company’s Limited Liability Status

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

Unionized employers participating in an underfunded multiemployer pension plan face significant financial exposure when withdrawing (completely or partially) from the plan. The cost (called “withdrawal liability”) is...more

Patton Sullivan Brodehl LLP

Alter Ego — No Single Factor is Determinative

Alter ego liability is again the flavor of the day... As previously covered, the alter ego doctrine allows a court to disregard a corporate entity (including LLCs) and hold the individual owners liable for claims against...more

Allen Matkins

Court Holds Corporations Owed Duty To Protect Third Parties From Abuse By Sole Shareholder

Allen Matkins on

Michael Jackson died in 2009.  After his death, two plaintiffs filed complaints against two corporations of which Michael Jackson was the sole shareholder.  The trial court sustained the plaintiffs' demurrer setting up...more

Allen Matkins

Outside Reverse Veil Piercing And LLCs

Allen Matkins on

"Outside reverse veil piercing" allows a shareholder's creditor to reach corporate assets.  In Postal Instant Press, Inc. v. Kaswa Corp., 162 Cal. App. 4th 1510 (2008), the Fourth District Court of Appeal rejected outside...more

Patton Sullivan Brodehl LLP

Alter Ego Liability for LLC Managers: the Facts Matter

Alter ego liability is a frequent topic covered in The LLC Jungle — see here for a list of all prior “alter ego” related posts. The alter ego doctrine allows a court to disregard a corporate entity (including LLCs) and...more

Patton Sullivan Brodehl LLP

Local Government Agencies Can Be “Alter Egos” Too

...Normally, a court will treat a business entity and its liabilities as separate and distinct from its owners. The alter ego doctrine allows the corporate veil to be pierced, and results in holding the owners liable for the...more

Allen Matkins

Is Alter Ego Coming To A City Or Town Near You?

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Historically, the alter ego doctrine has been applied to hold a shareholder or shareholders liable for the claims made against the corporation.  In general, two requirements must be met for the doctrine to be applied.  First,...more

Allen Matkins

Whose Law Applies To LLC Alter Ego Claims?

Allen Matkins on

In a recent ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Dale A. Drozd applied California law to the determination of which law to apply to an alter ego claim...more

Freeman Law

The Alter Ego Doctrine and Taxes

Freeman Law on

The Alter Ego Doctrine and Taxes What is an “alter ego?” The phrase is Latin, translating to “second I,” “another I,” or “other self.” In the federal tax context, the alter ego doctrine comes into play where the IRS...more

Patton Sullivan Brodehl LLP

LLC “Lien Priority” Battle: Charging Order vs. UCC Financing Statement

A charging order is a device used by a judgment creditor to collect on a judgment against an LLC member. The charging order imposes a lien on the judgment debtor’s economic (or “transferable”) interest in the LLC — the order...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

The Court of Chancery Rejects Claim for Veil-Piercing

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In an granting a motion to dismiss a counterclaim for veil-piercing, Chancellor McCormick recently reminded litigators that “veil piercing is a tough thing to plead and a tougher thing to get.” ...more

Patton Sullivan Brodehl LLP

Alter Ego, Equity, and Reverse Veil Piercing for LLCs

Normally, a business entity is considered a legal person separate and apart from its individual owners.  But when the entity is used by an owner to perpetrate a fraud, circumvent a statute, or accomplish some other wrongful...more

Rivkin Radler LLP

Me, Myself, and I: Tax Liabilities and Dealing with One’s Own Business

Rivkin Radler LLP on

“It’s My Business”- The owner of a closely held business will often find it difficult to distinguish the business from their own person. That is certainly true for a sole proprietorship. In many cases, unfortunately, the...more

Freeman Law

Alter Ego and The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals: Texas Business Owner Personally Liable for His Corporation’s Failure to Pay...

Freeman Law on

In a recent case before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the court was faced with the following question: Whether a business owner could be held personally liable for his corporation’s failure to pay taxes.  Its answer?...more

Freeman Law

Piercing the Corporate Veil

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A corporation is a separate legal entity. This status normally insulates its owners or shareholders from personal liability for the corporation’s obligations. But Texas law recognizes exceptions to this general rule. ...more

Allen Matkins

Choice Of Law And Outside Reverse Veil Piercing

Allen Matkins on

Last week, I took note of the Second District Court of Appeal's decision that allows for the possibility outside veil piercing, Blizzard Energy, Inc. v. Bernd Schaefers,  2021 Cal. App LEXIS 968.   Readers may recall that the...more

Allen Matkins

California Court Addresses Outside Reverse Veil Piercing Of Chimeric LLC

Allen Matkins on

Reverse veil piercing involves subjecting an entity to the liabilities of its owner. As Professor Bainbridge has noted, there are two types of reverse veil piercing...more

Houston Harbaugh, P.C.

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Broadens the Scope of the “Piercing the Corporate Veil” Doctrine

Houston Harbaugh, P.C. on

Earlier this year, Houston Harbaugh wrote on the then-pending Pennsylvania Supreme Court case of Mortimer v. McCool, which presented the question of whether the Court would adopt the “enterprise” or “single entity” theory of...more

Conyers

Piercing the Corporate Veil, or ‘Alter Ego’ liability, in the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, and the British Virgin Islands

Conyers on

Creative attempts to ‘pierce the corporate veil’ sometimes come before the Courts of Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, and the Cayman Islands. In some cases, an attempt is made to establish personal liability on the...more

Allen Matkins

Federal Court Rules Alter Ego Liability Of Members Is Governed By State Of Formation

Allen Matkins on

In an opinion issued last week, U.S. District Court Edward M. Chen ruled that Ohio law applied to an alter ego claim against the members of an Ohio limited liability company.  Greenlight Sys., LLC v. Breckenfelder, 2021 U.S....more

Patton Sullivan Brodehl LLP

Alter Ego Claims — Beware Attorney Fee Liability

One of the essential purposes of forming an entity and conducting business through that entity is to limit the owners’ personal liability. California law generally views the entity and its owners as separate and legally...more

Patton Sullivan Brodehl LLP

LLC Money-Shuffling and “Alter Ego” Liability

The “alter ego” doctrine allows a creditor of a business entity to “pierce the corporate veil” and enforce the debt against the company’s individual owners.  The standards for proving alter ego liability are high, and the...more

Law School Toolbox

Law School Toolbox Podcast Episode 280: Listen and Learn -- Piercing the Corporate Veil

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Welcome back to the Law School Toolbox podcast! Today, we have another episode in our "Listen and Learn" series, where we review a substantive area of the law and apply that law to fact patterns. This time we're looking at...more

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