Veil Piercing Claims Dismissed for Failure to Allege Fraud or Misconduct Arising from Misuse of the Corporate Form

On November 28, 2023, the First Department issued a decision in Ambase Corp. v. 111 W. 57th Sponsor LLC, 2023 NY Slip Op. 06078, holding that veil piercing claims failed because the alleged fraud or misconduct did not arise from misuse of the corporate form, explaining:

[P]laintiffs failed to plead sufficient facts to pierce the corporate veil, as they do not plead that the corporate entities were a sham and exist for no other purpose than as a vehicle for fraud. While the fourth amended complaint contains allegations that the defendant entities engaged in fraud, those allegations are not sufficient to pierce the corporate veil, as they do not assert that the corporate defendants made an inequitable use of the corporate form itself in order to perpetrate a fraud.

(Internal citations omitted).

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