Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: law suit against a holding company

In any lawsuit, you can only hope to collect from parties named as defendants and served with the summons and complaint. This is why lawsuits tend to name all known potential defendants and then throw in something like DOE ONE through DOE FIFTY, so that later on, another party can be identified and served and made a defendant (with some limitations, of course).

Correct identification of defendants to be named in a lawsuit is a skill lawyers are taught to some extent in law school but which really becomes a true talent through experience. There are times when the shareholders, officers, directors, parent companies and subsidiary companies really ought to be named in a suit as additional defendants, and there are other times when these related persons and entities are useless and better left out of the suit.

However, to go back to your actual question, a person that was never named as a defendant, never served, and thus never given an opportinity to present a defense, rarely if ever can be subjected to a judgment or made to contribute to the payment of damages.

If you are going to try to "pierce the corporate veil" and make an officer, shareholder, director, corporate affiliate, etc. liable as an "alter ego" in addition to, or instead of, the corporation itself, you need to name them as defendants in the suit. Otherwise, your right to collect damages will be limited to the specific parties you did sue, serve, and obtain judgment against.

Re: law suit against a holding company

If you only sue the holding company, no, you don't get to collect from Big Brother.

Whether a judgment against a business entity would be collectible depends on what, if any, assets are held by the entity and whether they are worth anything.

Remember, in the law there's no such thing as a "company." There are corporations, partnerships, and sole proprietorships; and also LLCs and LLPs (limited liability corporations and partnerships).

The attorney you retain to handle your lawsuit will research the business entity you want to sue and will advise you whether or not to also sue individual officers, directors, partners, and/or shareholders.