Although a major advantage of the corporate form of entity is the liability protection for its principals, there are some cases where a court will disregard the corporate entity and allow a creditor or judgment holder to reach through the corporation to the personal assets of its principals.
a) this is called piercing the corporate veil and may result in significant liability for the corporation's principals.
b) ultimately, the law provides a fairness standard for when the corporate veil should be pierced.
c) business owners and managers can limit liability and control risk by understanding the circumstances under which a court will pierce the corporate veil.