''Creasey v Breachwood Motors Ltd''

993 Year 993 ( CMXCIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – The 12-year-old King Otto III gives the Sword of Saints Cosmas and Damian ...

BCLC 480 is a

UK company law The United Kingdom company law regulates corporations formed under the Companies Act 2006. Also governed by the Insolvency Act 1986, the UK Corporate Governance Code, European Union Directives and court cases, the company is the primary legal ...

case concerning

piercing the corporate veil Piercing the corporate veil or lifting the corporate veil is a legal decision to treat the rights or duties of a corporation as the rights or liabilities of its shareholders. Usually a corporation is treated as a separate legal person, which is so ...

Facts

Mr Creasey was dismissed from his post of general manager at Breachwood Welwyn Ltd. He claimed that this constituted

wrongful dismissal In law, wrongful dismissal, also called wrongful termination or wrongful discharge, is a situation in which an employee's contract of employment has been terminated by the employer, where the termination breaches one or more terms of the contra ...

, in breach of his

employment contract An employment contract or contract of employment is a kind of contract used in labour law to attribute rights and responsibilities between parties to a bargain. The contract is between an "employee" and an "employer". It has arisen out of the old ...

. However, before he could claim, Breachwood Welwyn Ltd ceased trading, and all assets were moved to Breachwood Motors Ltd, which continued the business. Other creditors were paid off, but no money was left for Mr Creasey's claim, which was not defended and held successful in an order for £53,835 against Breachwood Welwyn Ltd. Mr Creasey applied for enforcement of the judgment against Breachwood Motors Ltd and was successful. Breachwood Motors Ltd appealed.

Judgment

Mr Richard Southwell lifted the corporate veil to enforce Mr Creasey's wrongful dismissal claim. He held that the directors of Breachwood Motors Ltd, who had also been directors of Breachwood Welwyn Ltd, had themselves deliberately ignored the separate legal personality of the companies by transferring assets between the companies without regard to their duties as directors and shareholders.

Significance

The case was heavily doubted by the Court of Appeal in '' Ord v Belhaven Pubs Ltd''.

998 Year 998 ( CMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – Otto III retakes Rome and restores power in the papal city. Crescenti ...

2 BCLC 447

Notes

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References

* United Kingdom company case law United Kingdom corporate personality case law United Kingdom labour case law 1993 in United Kingdom case law

Facts

Judgment

Significance

See also

Notes

References