Hyzer v. Hickman

393 S.E.2d 79, 195 Ga. App. 213, 1990 Ga. App. LEXIS 462
CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
DecidedMarch 16, 1990
DocketA89A1660, A89A1661
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 393 S.E.2d 79 (Hyzer v. Hickman) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hyzer v. Hickman, 393 S.E.2d 79, 195 Ga. App. 213, 1990 Ga. App. LEXIS 462 (Ga. Ct. App. 1990).

Opinions

McMurray, Presiding Judge.

In the fall of 1985 Mike Shean and Earl Hickman, an attorney, met and decided to enter the home construction business. Hickman was to secure the financing of the project while Shean would provide technical knowledge and supervise the actual construction.

A corporation was formed to conduct the business. The 500 shares issued by the corporation were divided between Hickman (166 shares) and two investors, Hickman’s brother and a friend (167 shares each). The three shareholders composed the board of directors, while [214]*214Hickman also served as president and treasurer. Although Shean was not a shareholder, the corporation bore his name as Mike Shean Signature Homes, Inc.

The initial funding for the corporation of $223,000 came from five sources. Each of the shareholders provided $10,000 to the corporation. Most of this $30,000 was identified as a loan and no more than $500, the statutory minimum, was ever designated as capital of the corporation. Hickman’s client, Intercontinental Enterprises, Inc., loaned the corporation $190,000. The remaining $3,000 was loaned by Hickman’s professional corporation. With these funds six building lots were purchased by the corporation. In order to protect the original loans the corporation executed a promissory note and a deed, to secure debt to the assets of the corporation to Hickman personally.

Six construction loans totaling $600,000 or more were obtained from Home Federal Savings & Loan Association (“Home Federal”). In order to obtain the construction loans, Hickman subordinated the security interest he held to the construction loan notes.

The corporation was allowed to make draws on the construction loans as progress was made in the fabrication of the houses. Upon completion of the first house more than 80 percent of the available construction loans ($480,000) had been drawn. Nonetheless, in order to pay bills in connection with the completion of the first house, Hickman loaned the corporation an additional $20,000 a few days before the closing on the first house was completed.

The first and only house completed by the corporation was sold to Peter and Bette Hyzer. At the closing on the sale to the Hyzers, Hickman received a check for $63,358.33. More than $20,000 was retained by Hickman as payment of principal and interest on the loan he had made to the corporation shortly before the closing. The remainder was placed in the corporation’s account to pay for construction expenses and also for expenses from a workers’ compensation claim that arose from an incident which predated the corporation’s purchase of workers’ compensation insurance.

Following the Hyzer sale, Shean resigned and construction ended on the remaining houses. To forestall a foreclosure by Home Federal, Hickman determined that the corporation was in default under its note to him and foreclosed on the remaining residences. Hickman then sold the remaining five homes to another construction company for cash, a promissory note, and assumption of the construction loans. The proceeds of this sale were and are to be distributed to the four original lenders.

After moving into their new house the Hyzers discovered various defects in the construction of the residence. The Hyzers’ attempts to have the problems remedied under the corporation’s warranty of the house were unsuccessful.

[215]*215This action was commenced in April 1987 when Walk Softly, Inc., filed an action asserting a labor and materialman’s lien arising from the construction of the Hyzers’ home. The Hyzers filed cross-claims against the corporation for indemnity on Walk Softly’s claim and direct claims against the corporation for breach of contract predicated on the defects in the new home. The Hyzers also filed third party complaints against Hickman and Shean seeking indemnity on the Walk Softly claim. These portions of the action have been resolved by the default of the corporation and by this Court’s decision affirming summary judgment in favor of the Hyzers on the Walk Softly claim. See Walk Softly, Inc. v. Hyzer, 188 Ga. App. 230 (372 SE2d 500).

The issues on appeal arise from the Hyzers’ and Shean’s claims against Hickman individually, predicated upon a theory of piercing the corporate veil. The Hyzers’ third party complaint seeks damages against Shean for breach of contract and against Hickman for the defects in their home, the failure of the corporation to make contracted improvements and additions to the home, and the corporation’s failure to honor the homeowner’s warranty. Shean, as third party defendant, cross-claims against Hickman seeking indemnity for any judgment against him in the Hyzers’ third party action and for the amount of his breach of contract claim against the corporation. Case No. A89A1660 is the Hyzers’ appeal and Case No. A89A1661 is Shean’s appeal from the grant of summary judgment in favor of Hickman on the issues raised in the third party action. Held:

1. “If a corporation is organized and carries on a business without substantial capital in such a way that the corporation is likely to have insufficient assets available to meet its debts, it is inequitable that the stockholders should set up such a flimsy organization to escape personal liability. ‘Inadequate capitalization’ means capitalization very small in relation to the nature of the business of the corporation and the risks the business necessarily entails. The attempt to do corporate business without providing any sufficient basis of financial responsibilities to creditors is an abuse of the separate entity and will be ineffectual to exempt stockholders from corporate debts. It is coming to be recognized as the policy of the law that the stockholders should in good faith put at the risk of the business unencumbered capital reasonably adequate for its prospective liabilities. If the capital is illusory or trifling compared to the business to be done and the risks of loss, this is ground for denying the separate entity privilege. . . .
“The adequacy of capital is to be measured as of the time of formation of the corporation. A corporation that was adequately capitalized when formed but which subsequently suffers financial reverses is not undercapitalized.” Fletcher Cyc Corp & Cumulative Supplement § 44.1. See also 46 ALR3d 428 and Tigrett v. Pointer, 580 SW2d 375.

In the cases sub judice, we have a corporation, with no more than [216]*216$500 in capital, setting out to construct six houses which when completed could be anticipated to sell for a total sum in excess of one million dollars. Even though only one of the houses was completed, the corporation had as much as approximately $700,000 of borrowed money invested in the project. A jury could easily determine that the $500 capital of the corporation was entirely insignificant in relation to the risks accompanying a construction project of this scale. Satisfaction of former OCGA § 14-2-171 (a) (8), requiring minimum capital of $500, does not preclude a determination that a corporation is under-capitalized.

Parties entering into contractual relations with corporations are entitled to assume that the corporation is more than a shell.

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Related

Hyzer v. Hickman
409 S.E.2d 93 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1991)
Hickman v. Hyzer
401 S.E.2d 738 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1991)
Hester Enterprises, Inc. v. Narvais
402 S.E.2d 333 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1991)
Commonwealth Financial Corp. v. Sherrill
398 S.E.2d 438 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1990)

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Bluebook (online)
393 S.E.2d 79, 195 Ga. App. 213, 1990 Ga. App. LEXIS 462, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hyzer-v-hickman-gactapp-1990.