llc lawsuit protection

Many business owners believe that they can simply incorporate their businesses into an Limited Liability Company (aka LLC) and they’ll achieve LLC lawsuit protection for their personal assets. However, that is an extreme oversimplification of the law and at the core of misleading consumers by the “LLC farms” out there. Lawyers should know that if a corporation or LLC owes a client money, they are allowed to sue the owners, asking the judge to pierce the corporate veil. Studies have shown that American courts disregard the corporate entity to hold shareholders liable for corporate debts in nearly 50% of cases.   As one Illinois Court noted, piercing the corporate veil is both the number one issue that arises in business litigation lawsuits and one frequently misunderstood. If business owners are not meticulous in following corporate formalities, they could find himself forfeiting corporate protection.   Piercing the corporate veil means that a judge may reach beyond the protection provided by the corporate form to hold a business owner personally liable for the company’s debts. There are two common reasons that this happens: under-capitalization and commingling of corporate assets.   3 core secrets to successful asset protection by clicking here   If a person starts a business that is likely to incur a significant debts, such as a real estate company, but does not secure adequate insurance or provide funding to pay possible claims against the company, a judge may find that the corporate shareholders are personally liable on the debt resulting in the lack of LLC lawsuit protection. Under-capitalization will most likely lead to veil piercing when it is combined with the failure to observe corporate formalities. To receive protection, a company must hold shareholder meetings and keep minutes. It must have business bank accounts used for business purposes only. Shareholders must not use personal accounts to make business purchases or vice versa.   One of the reasons that piercing the corporate veil is so dangerous for owners is that it does not attach percentages of liability based on a person’s individual wrongdoing. If corporate formalities are not observed and the veil is pierced, the law treats the corporation or LLC like a partnership. That means all shareholders will be jointly and severally liable on the total debt, even a person who owns merely a single share. The plaintiff can choose to sue whichever shareholder has assets.   A cause of action to pierce the corporate veil is not a new lawsuit. The defendants do not have the ability to attack the underlying allegations in the case against the business, even if the business would have had a viable defense. Piercing the corporate veil is a way of imposing liability for an existing judgment against the business on the owners. Thus, an owner who chooses not to defend a case brought against the company because it is incorporated may come to regret that decision later.   The best way for an individual to ensure that his or her assets are protected is to maintain control rather than ownership. Assets that are owned may be seized by creditors, even a person believes they are protected through the formation of an LLC or corporation. Even funds in a revocable trust do not have protection: If the trust may be revoked by the individual who created it, the assets within may be taken by creditors. Only a properly drafted, executed, and funded irrevocable trust provides 100% asset protection.   When a Grantor establishes an irrevocable trust, he transfers ownership of the assets into the trust. A trustee will invest and distribute the assets in accordance with instructions provided by the trust documents. Income generated by irrevocable trusts may provide income to the Grantor, but the Grantor doesn’t own the assets. Subject to Medicare’s five year “look back” period, property held in an irrevocable trust may not be used to satisfy a judgment against the grantor or against the trust beneficiaries.   Below are actual court cases from all over the country highlighting these facts:     1) LLC Lawsuit Protection Case: Peetoom v. Swanson, 630 N.E.2d 1054 (Ill. Ct. App. 2000):   The Illinois Court of Appeals applied the concept of piercing the corporate veil to a personal injury case where the plaintiff, Peetom, fell and injured himself while walking on The Swanson Group’s parking lot. She filed a lawsuit for her hospital bills and pain and suffering, and her husband filed a loss of consortium claim arising out of the accident. The trial court judge entered a default judgment against The Swanson Group in 1997. Approximately one year later, the company was dissolved by the Secretary of State for failure to comply with taxation and annual report requirements. The plaintiffs later filed an action against The Swanson Group’s owners as individuals.   The defendants argued that the two year statute of limitations for bringing a personal injury action had expired and therefore, they could not be liable. The original injury occurred on January 20, 1993. The lawsuit against The Swanson Group was filed on January 11, 1995, shortly before the statute of limitations expired. However, the suit against the owners was not filed until September 2000. The trial court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss, but the plaintiffs appealed.   The Court of Appeals explained that piercing the corporate veil is not a cause of action like negligence, and therefore is not subject to the same statute of limitations. Piercing the corporate veil is an equitable remedy, a way of imposing liability on corporate shareholders for fraud or injustice that the corporation allowed or caused. As such, the action could be brought within five years after the corporation was dissolved, as provided by Illinois law on shareholder liability for defunct corporations. Neither the corporate form nor the fact that the defendants were not named in the original lawsuit protected them, thus resulting a failure of LLC lawsuit protection.   2) LLC Lawsuit Protection Case: Las Palmas Assocs. v. Las Palmas Ctr. Assocs.