I- The Veil Doctrine in Company Law
1.1: Introduction
A corporation under Company law or corporate law is specifically referred to as a “legal person”- as a subject of rights and duties that is capable of owning real property, entering into contracts, and having the ability to sue and be sued in its own name.[1] In other words, a corporation is a juristic person that in most instances is legally treated as a person, and empowered with he attributes to own its own property, execute contracts, as well as ability to sue and be sued.
One of the main motivations for forming a corporation or company is the limited liability it offers its shareholders. By this doctrine (limited liability), a shareholder can only lose only what he or she has contributed as shares to the corporate entity and nothing more.
Nevertheless, there is a major exception to the general concept of limited liability. There are certain circumstances in which courts will have to look through the corporation, that is, lift the veil of incorporation, otherwise known as piercing the veil, and hold the shareholders of the company directly and personally liable for the obligations of the corporation.
The veil doctrine is invoked when shareholders blur the distinction between the corporation and the shareholders. It is worthy of note that although a separate legal entity, a company or corporation can only act through human agents that compose it. [2]As a result, there are two main ways through which a company becomes liable in company or corporate law to wit: through direct liability (for direct infringement) and through secondary liability (for acts of its human agents acting in the course of their employment).[3]
The doctrine of piercing the corporate veil varies from co ...