Single-entity theory guidance

Trial Notebook

By Steven P. Garmisa

Hoey & Farina

Posted September 28, 2021 11:11 AM

In 1981, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that “the doctrine of piercing the corporate veil is not limited to the parent and subsidiary relationship; the separate corporate identities of corporations owned by the same parent will likewise be disregarded in an appropriate case.” Main Bank of Chicago v. Baker, 86 Ill.2d 188 (1981). Because of the peculiar facts in that case, the court didn’t have to elaborate on when the single-entity theory applies. In a recent case about efforts to collect on a $6.8 million tort judgment …

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