By Arina Shulga

One of the main benefits afforded to a corporate structure is the limited liability protection for its owners. This means that the corporation and its shareholders are treated as separate legal entities and it is the corporation’s assets, and not the assets of its individual shareholders, that are available to pay for judgments and claims of creditors.

In certain limited circumstances such as fraud, disregard for corporate formalities, and inadequate capitalization, the limited liability shield can be “pierced” by the courts to hold the corporation’s shareholders personally liable for the corporation’s debts and other obligations. Such “piercing” of the corporate limited liability shield is a prevalent practice in most if not all states. Continue reading “Unlimited Liability for New York Business Owners”