Depositors Insurance Company v. Carolyn Hall ( 2018 )

United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
___________________________
No. 17-2600
___________________________
Depositors Insurance Company,
lllllllllllllllllllll Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
Hall’s Restaurant, Inc.,
lllllllllllllllllllll Defendant,
Carolyn Hall,
lllllllllllllllllllll Defendant - Appellant.
____________
Appeal from United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Missouri - St. Louis
____________
Submitted: March 29, 2018
Filed: April 3, 2018
[Unpublished]
____________
Before WOLLMAN, COLLOTON, and SHEPHERD, Circuit Judges.
____________
PER CURIAM.
Carolyn Hall appeals from the judgment of the district court1 that “pierced the
corporate veil” to hold her personally liable for attorney’s fees incurred by Depositors
Insurance Company in a fire-loss diversity action filed against her Missouri
corporation, Hall’s Restaurant, Inc. Whether to pierce a corporate veil is a legal
determination that is governed by state law. See Stoebner v. Lingenfelter, 115 F.3d
576, 579 (8th Cir. 1997).
Reviewing the district court’s legal determination de novo and its supporting
factual findings for clear error, we conclude that the district court correctly found that
(1) Hall possessed complete control and domination of the restaurant; (2) Hall used
her control to commit a fraudulent act; and (3) Hall’s control and wrong doing was the
proximate cause of the insurance company’s injury. Therefore, the court properly
granted Depositors’s motion to pierce the corporate veil. See Haynes v. Edgerson,
240 S.W.3d 189, 197 (Mo. App. 2007) (discussing elements required to pierce
corporate veil).
The judgment of the district court is affirmed. See 8th Cir. R. 47B.
______________________________
1
The Honorable Stephen N. Limbaugh, Jr., United States District Judge for the
Eastern District of Missouri.
-2-