New Hampshire
How DeWitt Truck Brokers, Inc. v. W. Ray Flemming Fruit Co. applies in New Hampshire: state-specific rules, key cases, and bar exam notes for Business Associations (Piercing the Corporate Veil).
New Hampshire follows similar principles to those in DeWitt regarding piercing the corporate veil, focusing on the unity of interest and ownership as well as inequitable results when observing corporate formalities. The state typically looks for indicators of fraud or wrongdoing in the corporate structure.
In New Hampshire, to pierce the corporate veil, a plaintiff must demonstrate that a corporation is merely an alter ego of its owners and that adherence to the corporate form would promote injustice or cause an inequitable result.
The court held that shareholders could be personally liable for corporate debts because they commingled funds, failing to observe the necessary corporate separateness.
This case reaffirmed the necessity of observing corporate formalities and maintained that disregarding these could lead to personal liability of the shareholders.
The court determined that where corporate governance was merely a facade for individual actions, the corporate veil could be pierced to hold individuals accountable.
New Hampshire's approach is consistent with the federal standard in that courts typically require a showing of undercapitalization and failure to follow corporate formalities. However, state courts may focus more heavily on issues of equitable treatment and the intent behind corporate structures.
This topic may appear in the New Hampshire bar exam, particularly in sections regarding business organizations and the liability of business entities under state law.