The Oil Patch, the Single Business Enterprise Doctrine, and Veterans Day

Originally published by Charles Sartain.

Let’s suppose that someone (You? The other guy?) who operates wells in which others have an interest organizes the enterprise so that the owner of the leases, the owner of the overrides, the operator, several service companies, the employer of the workers, and on-an-on are all separate entities. Money is owed, liability is alleged, litigation ensues. Can a plaintiff, casting the net as far and wide as possible, lump all those entities together, treating them as one for liability purposes?  It depends on which side of the Sabine River you are on. (Perhaps you know the joke about what other the difference is.)

First, a definition:

A distinct corporate entity may be disregarded when a corporation is so organized and controlled as to make it merely an instrumentality or adjunct of another corporation. If one corporation is wholly under the control of another, the fact that it is a separate entity does not relieve the letter from liability.

A Louisiana court can consider at least 18 factors. See page 5 of the opinion for an illustrative but not exhaustive list.

The doctrine in Louisiana

GBB Properties v. Sterling Properties Inc. was a dispute over a real estate lease. The plaintiff claimed that the several defendants constituted a single business enterprise. The defendants argued that the theory was abolished by La. RS 12:1320. But according to the court that statute only relates to personal liability of individuals. The real question was whether the doctrine itself is a viable claim. The answer is yes, it does. Whether two or more entities comprise a single business enterprise is to be decided by the trier of fact. Whether the doctrine works for the plaintiff in this case will be decided after a trial.

What about Texas?

According to the Texas Supreme Court, the claim is no more. In Best SP Partners v. Gladstrong Investments USA Corp. the rationale in denying such a cause of action was that there is nothing abusive or unjust about corporations sharing names, offices, accounting, employees, services and finances. Different entities may coordinate their activities without joint liability.

Piercing the corporate veil?

Texas plaintiffs are not bereft of all theories of recovery, no matter how much our Supreme Court tamps them down. Best SP Partners confirmed that cause of action remains viable in Texas.

Saturday was Veterans Day

If you know one, thank him or her for doing their duty for us.  If its a WW II vet, do yourself a favor and do it soon. There aren’t many of them left. One, Captain C. Lenton Sartain, was my uncle. For him and his unit it was North Africa, Italy, D-Day, Operation Market Garden, Battle of the Bulge, all before his 24th birthday. Died this week at age 97. Knowing him and others like him, including my own father and maybe yours or your grandfather, it’s easy to understand why they are called the Greatest Generation.

Curated by Texas Bar Today. Follow us on Twitter @texasbartoday.

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