California Corporate & Securities Law

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 appeals to the California Court...

"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 reverse veil piercing,...

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, there must be such a...

In a decision published on Wednesday, the California Court of Appeal held that a defendant's due process rights do not protect the sole shareholder of a corporation from an alter ego action.  Lopez v. Escamilla, Cal. Ct. Appeal Case No. B316800 (June...

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:

Though never a colony of England, California nonetheless has adopted the Common Law of England as the rule of decision in the state's courts (except when repugnant to, or inconsistent with, the Constitution of the United States, or the Constitution...

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 case involved the...

Reverse veil piercing involves subjecting an entity to the liabilities of its owner.  See Inside and Outside Veil Piercing.   As Professor Bainbridge has noted, there are two types of reverse veil piercing:

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. Dist. LEXIS 120288. He...