Bankruptcy – Piercing the Corporate Veil

By: Derek Hawkins//August 28, 2018//

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: The William R. Lee Irrevocable Trust, et al. v. Lester L. Lee

Case No.: 17-1582

Officials: BAUER, FLAUM, and MANION, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Bankruptcy – Piercing the Corporate Veil

Lester Lee merged two companies he controlled. A trust administered by his nephews, with a pre-merger minority interest in one of the companies, dissented from the merger pursuant to Indiana’s Dissenters’ Rights Statute and obtained a judgment against that company. Lester filed a personal bankruptcy petition. The Trust commenced an adversary proceeding in that bankruptcy action, seeking to pierce the corporate veil and hold Lester personally liable for the judgment against the company. The bankruptcy court granted summary judgment for the Trust and pierced the corporate veil based on Lester’s post-merger conduct stripping the company’s assets. The district court affirmed. Lester appeals to us and argues piercing was inappropriate for various reasons. We affirm.

Affirmed

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.

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