Brief Fact Summary
Defendant operated a fleet of cabs. The operation had ten different corporate entities, which were organized to shield the entire operation from liability.

Rule of Law and Holding
"The law permits the incorporation of a business for the very purpose of enabling its proprietors to escape personal liability . . . but . . . the courts will disregard the corporate form, or, to use accepted terminology, 'pierce the corporate veil,' whenever necessary 'to prevent fraud or achieve equity' . . . ." Three takeaways: (1) You are allowed to setup complex corporations to cabin liability; (2) in order to get courts to respect the corporate entities, go through the motions of formalities; and (3) the distinction between veil piercing and enterprise liability is that enterprise liability - there is nothing wrong with one corporation being part of a larger corporate enterprise.

Topics
Corporate Formation & Form

Subtopics
Veil Piercing