Depositors Insurance Company v. Carolyn Hall

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
• Decided: April 3, 2018
• Docket: 17-2600
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________

No. 17-2600 ___________________________

Depositors Insurance Company,

lllllllllllllllllllll Plaintiff - Appellee,

v.

Hall’s Restaurant, Inc.,

lllllllllllllllllllll Defendant,

Carolyn Hall,

lllllllllllllllllllll Defendant - Appellant. ____________

Appeal from United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri - St. Louis ____________

Submitted: March 29, 2018 Filed: April 3, 2018 [Unpublished] ____________

Before WOLLMAN, COLLOTON, and SHEPHERD, Circuit Judges. ____________

PER CURIAM. Carolyn Hall appeals from the judgment of the district court1 that “pierced the corporate veil” to hold her personally liable for attorney’s fees incurred by Depositors Insurance Company in a fire-loss diversity action filed against her Missouri corporation, Hall’s Restaurant, Inc. Whether to pierce a corporate veil is a legal determination that is governed by state law. See Stoebner v. Lingenfelter, 115 F.3d 576, 579 (8th Cir. 1997).

Reviewing the district court’s legal determination de novo and its supporting factual findings for clear error, we conclude that the district court correctly found that (1) Hall possessed complete control and domination of the restaurant; (2) Hall used her control to commit a fraudulent act; and (3) Hall’s control and wrong doing was the proximate cause of the insurance company’s injury. Therefore, the court properly granted Depositors’s motion to pierce the corporate veil. See Haynes v. Edgerson, 240 S.W.3d 189, 197 (Mo. App. 2007) (discussing elements required to pierce corporate veil).

The judgment of the district court is affirmed. See 8th Cir. R. 47B. ______________________________

1 The Honorable Stephen N. Limbaugh, Jr., United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri.

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