Court Summaries
| Publication year | 2015 |
| Pages | 50 |
P. Craig Silva Williams, Porter, Day & Neville P.C.
GreenHunter Energy, Inc. v. Western Ecosystems Technology, Inc.
S-14-0036
November 7, 2014
GreenHunter Energy, Inc. is the sole member of the limited liability company GreenHunter Wind Energy, LLC. Western Ecosystems Technology, Inc. entered into a contract with GreenHunter Wind Energy, LLC for consulting services for the potential development of a wind turbine farm in Platte County, Wyoming. GreenHunter Wind Energy, LLC did not pay on the contract. Western Ecosystems therefore brought suit and a judgment was entered against GreenHunter Wind Energy, LLC for $43,646.10. The judgment went unsatisfied due to the fact that GreenHunter Wind Energy, LLC had no assets.
Western Ecosystems Technology, Inc. later brought suit against GreenHunter Energy, Inc. on a theory of piercing the corporate veil as the sole member of the LLC. The case proceeded to a bench trial where Western Ecosystems Technology, Inc. prevailed on its theory. The evidence supporting the conclusion of piercing was GreenHunter Wind Energy, LLC: (1) was undercapitalized with GreenHunter Energy, Inc. controlling the capital; (2) equally, the undercapitalized company had no employees of its own, but its employees were the employees of GreenHunter Energy, Inc.; (3) GreenHunter Energy, Inc. maintained the accounts for the LLC and they filed taxes jointly; and (4) GreenHunter Energy, Inc. was able to take loss deductions based on the LLC's losses. The Wyoming Supreme Court affirmed.
This case provides a great primer on the requirements of piercing the corporate veil of an LLC. Two fundamental requirements for piercing in this context are that 1) "the limited liability company is not only owned, influenced and governed by its members, but the required separateness has ceased to exist due to misuse of the limited liability company; and 2) the facts are such that an adherence to the fiction of its separate existence would, under the particular circumstances, lead to injustice, fundamental unfairness, or inequity."
Jeffrey Gerard Irene and Christine Delauter as conservator of minor children Ml and El v. Seneca Insurance Company, Inc., Lederman Bonding Company, and Eric A. Overlie
S-13-0232, S-13-0233
November 10, 2014
Jeffrey Irene was seriously injured after being struck and dragged under a vehicle driven by Douglas Downs. Two hours prior to the incident Mr. Downs had been arrested for driving while under the influence of alcohol. Eric Overlie, a licensed bail bondsman and agent of Lederman Bonding Company, posted bail to procure Mr. Downs' release from custody. Mr. Irene and Christine Delauter filed suit against Mr. Overlie, Lederman, and Seneca Insurance claiming Mr. Overlie had been negligent in releasing Mr. Downs from custody after bailing him out of jail. All defendants filed a motion to dismiss arguing that suit had not been filed within the two-year statute of limitations as set forth in Wyo. Stat. § 1-3-107. This statute governs causes of actions arising from the rendering of licensed or professional services. The district court granted the motion to dismiss. The Wyoming Supreme Court reversed.
The question for the Wyoming Supreme Court under the applicable limitations statute was whether under the facts Mr. Overlie was acting in his professional capacity as a bail bondsman. According to the Complaint, "[i]n undertaking the custody, responsibility and control of Mr. Downs, Overlie agreed to perform a duty owed by the Natrona County Sheriff's Office to protect the public, including Plaintiffs, from the harm caused by intoxicated persons who are likely to drive a vehicle under the influence of alcohol and cause serious physical injury or death." The Wyoming Supreme Court then looked to the actual duties of a bail bondsman, which include responsibilities such as being licensed to sell surety agreements to criminal defendants and produce the accused in open court. Based on the...
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