ZEPH FUTCH, APPELLANT,
v.
SOUTHERN STORES, INC., APPELLEE
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A former officer and director of an involuntarily dissolved corporation sought to avoid personal liability for contracts made by another officer in the corporation's name while it was dissolved. The court held that an inactive director who neither participated in nor induced reliance on the contracts cannot be held individually liable absent fraud or illegal purpose.
An inactive director who neither participated in nor induced reliance on contracts made on behalf of a dissolved corporation cannot be held individually liable under Section 607.397 absent a showing of fraud or illegal purpose. The corporate veil will not be pierced and personal liability will not attach merely because the corporation was dissolved at the time of the transactions.
[1] A person who was an inactive director and officer of a corporation cannot be held individually liable for contracts made on behalf of the corporation by another officer w…
[2] Individuals who assume to act as a corporation without authority are jointly and severally liable for debts incurred as a result of those actions.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“All persons who assume to act as a corporation without authority to do so shall be jointly and severally liable for all debts and liabilities incurred or arising as a result thereof.”
The statute appellee relied upon to establish personal liability for acts on behalf of a dissolved corporation
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAppellant and her son formed a petroleum distribution business that incorporated in September 1969, with appellant serving as secretary, treasurer, di…
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PER CURIAM.
The issue on this appeal is whether appellant, an inactive director and officer of a corporation, can be held individually liable for contracts made on behalf of the corporation by another officer while it was involuntarily dissolved.
We hold that she cannot be held liable on the record presented and reverse the trial court’s summary judgment against her.
The record reveals that appellant and her son, Frank Futch, began a petroleum distribution business under a fictitious name in September, 1968, and subsequently incorporated the business with another person in September, 1969. Appellant was the secretary and treasurer, a director, and a 50% shareholder in the corporation from its inception, but had no participation in the business whatsoever. In October, 1974, the corporation was involuntarily dissolved by proclamation of the Governor for failure to file an annual report or an annual filing fee. The dissolution was unknown to both appellant and her son. The son continued running the business as if it were incorporated and from November, 1976 to January, 1977 made numerous supply contracts with appellee in the corporate name. Several payments were made on those contracts but there remained an outstanding balance of over $60,000 at the time suit was brought.
Although the corporation was subsequently reinstated in August, 1977, appellee filed its complaint against Frank Futch and appellant, doing business as Fuco Oil and Chemical Co., Inc., jointly and severally. It claimed that because the corporation was dissolved at the time of the transactions involved, the Futchs were individually liable for contracts made by them on behalf of the corporation.
The basis of this argument was Section 607.397, Florida Statutes (1977), which provides:
“All persons who assume to act as a corporation without authority to do so shall be jointly and severally liable for all debts and liabilities incurred or arising as a result thereof.”
Appellee contended below and on appeal that appellant is liable as a matter of law under this statute because the contracts were transacted while she “assumed to act” as an officer and director of the corporation. In addition appellee argues that Section 607.271(5) of the new Florida General Corporation Act specifically provides that although an involuntarily dissolved corporation may be reinstated,
“[t]he reinstatement shall have no effect up on any personal liability of the directors, officers, or agents of the corporation on account of actions taken during the period between dissolution and reinstatement . . . .”
There is a dearth of authority on the point. It is well established, however, that the corporate veil will not be pierced unless it is shown that the corporation was organized or employed to mislead creditors or to work a fraud upon them. Delta AirLines, Inc. v. Wilson, 210 So. 2d 761 (Fla. 3d DCA 1968); Riley v. Fatt, 47 So. 2d 769 (Fla.1950). There is no showing of fraud in the record here.
Furthermore, the case is analogous to Russell v. Gans, 275 So. 2d 270 (Fla. 2d DCA 1973) in which the court held that where the plaintiffs attempting to collect a debt there considered at all times that they were dealing with a corporate entity, they could not question the corporate existence in the absence of pleadings and proof that the corporation was organized for an illegal purpose or to work a fraud upon them. Similarly here we believe the correct rule is that in the absence of any action inducing reliance on the individual assets of a person acting on behalf of a corporation, the plaintiff’s action should be limited to one against the corporation. There is nothing in the record showing that appellant induced any reliance on appellee’s part, or indeed that she participated in the transaction in any manner.
Accordingly, the summary judgment against appellant is reversed and the cause is remanded for proceedings consistent with this opinion.
MELVIN, Acting C. J., and BOOTH and LARRY G. SMITH, JJ., concur.
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Salomon Kassin Nessim v. Mickey DeLOACHE, 384 So. 2d 1341 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980)…ption of such a statute and we see no reason to depart from the plain and unambiguous pronouncements therein in the application of the statute in this case. DeLoache seeks to disavow his liability on the authority of Futch v. Southern Stores, Inc., 380 So. 2d 444 (Fla. 1st DCA 1979). Without disagreeing with Futch, we find it readily distinguishable because: (a) in Futch, an inactive corporate officer was sought to be held individually liable; and (b) no fraud was alleged. Consequently, we find the trial cou…
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Vantage View, Inc. v. Bali E. Dev. Corp., 421 So. 2d 728 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982)…because the evidence did not establish that a subsidiary was the “alter ego, adjunct, agency or instrumentality of I.T. & T.” 242 So. 2d at 190. No mention was made of thé failure to prove any other element. . Accord Futch v. Southern Stores, Inc., 380 So. 2d 444 (Fla. 1st DCA 1979); Delta Air Lines, Inc. v. Wilson, 210 So. 2d 761 (Fla.3d DCA 1968); Sirmons v. Arnold Lumber Co., 167 So. 2d 588 (Fla.2d DCA 1964). . Roberts’ Fish Farm v. Spencer, 153 So. 2d 718 (Fla.1963). This court said in Computer Center,…
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Mobil OIL Corp. v. Thoss, 385 So. 2d 726 (Fla. 5th DCA 1980)…as held that directors, officers, and agents of a dissolved corporation are not personally liable in the absence of a showing that the creditor relied upon the individual assets of the persons acting as a corporation. Futch v. Southern Stores, Inc., 380 So. 2d 444 (Fla. 1st DCA 1979).1 We disagree with this interpretation because we find no support for it in the language of the statute.2 However, the same result would have been achieved under our interpretation because in Futch the person whose personal liabi…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Riley v. Fatt, 47 So. 2d 769 (Fla. 1950)
- DELTA AIR Lines, Inc. v. Wilson, 210 So. 2d 761 (Fla. 3d DCA 1968)
- Russell v. Gans, 275 So. 2d 270 (Fla. 3d DCA 1973)