This study clears up some of the mists hanging around the concept of corporate veil piercing.
What exactly is corporate veil piercing and in which situations does it occur? What are the legal rules involved? Following a short overview of the applicable law in the six legal systems that are the subject of this study-those of Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States-the author proceeds with a more profound analysis from a functional comparative perspective, starting from particular situations that typically call for shareholder liability for the debts of subsidiary companies. Among the grounds for veil piercing claims the author discusses the following, along with the substantive and procedural law and important cases associated with each in the six jurisdictions covered:
- undercapitalization
- asset stripping
- undue continuing of loss-making activities
- identification or the consideration of the corporate group as an economic unit