Piercing the Corporate Veil Essay -- Papers

Piercing the Corporate Veil Since the establishment in Salomon v Salomon, the separate legal personality has been long recognised in English law for centuries, that is to say, a limited liability company has its own legal identity distinct from its shareholders or directors. However, in certain circumstances the courts may be prepared to look behind the company at the actions of the directors and shareholders. This is known as piercing the corporate cloak. There are numerous cases concerning the piercing the corporate veil, among which, Jones v Lipman1 was a typical case. Lipman sold land to Jones by a written beat but refused to complete the sale because of another good deal, instead he offered damages for breach of contract. To put the house out of reach of Jones, he bought a company off the shelf and conveyed the house to it. In an action against Lipman and the company, the court granted the specific performance and ruled that the defendant compan y is the creature of the head start defendant, a device and ...