case United States English original

Kinney Shoe Corp. v. Polan

Fourth Circuit case piercing the veil where a corporation was an empty shell, observed no corporate formalities, and was inadequately capitalized for its lease obligations.

Brief English Introduction

The court’s reasoning gives students a U.S. example where undercapitalization worked together with absence of assets and failure to maintain corporate formalities.

Use It For

Use it as a counterpoint to Walkovszky: one case resists undercapitalization alone, while the other pierces when the corporation is functionally empty.

Teaching Notes

The case is helpful for building an evidence checklist: capital, records, assets, arm’s-length dealings, office, employees, ownership, and representations to outsiders.