{"id":10943,"date":"2026-11-10T13:36:16","date_gmt":"2026-11-10T13:36:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lawayala.com\/resources\/business-litigation\/pierce-corporate-veil-florida\/"},"modified":"2026-11-10T13:36:23","modified_gmt":"2026-11-10T13:36:23","slug":"pierce-corporate-veil-florida","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.lawayala.com\/resources\/business-litigation\/pierce-corporate-veil-florida\/","title":{"rendered":"Pierce the Corporate Veil in Florida: Owner Liability"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Business Litigation<\/a> | Tampa Bay and Hillsborough County<\/p>

When Your Company Doesn't Shield You: Owner Liability in Florida<\/h1>
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By Eduardo A. Maura \u00b7 Published November 10, 2026<\/p>\n\n

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A Florida company owes you money, and it has little left to pay. You want to know whether its owner can be made to pay from personal assets.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, yes. This “showing of improper conduct” requires proof that “the corporation was actually organized or used to mislead creditors or to perpetrate a fraud upon them.” (Wurtzebach opinion<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Short answer: yes, but only in limited circumstances<\/h2>\n

Florida courts can set aside a company’s separate identity, but only when the claimant proves a specific set of facts. Courts call this piercing the corporate veil or alter ego liability.<\/p>\n

A company is treated as separate from the people who own it. That separation is the default.<\/p>\n

The rule for LLCs is spelled out in statute. A company’s debt is solely the company’s. A member or manager is not personally liable for it just because of that role. Fla. Stat. \u00a7 605.0304<\/a> also says a failure to observe formalities is not a ground for imposing liability on a member or manager of the company for a company debt.<\/p>\n

That second point surprises many owners and creditors. Skipped meetings and sloppy paperwork matter as evidence. They do not move a company debt onto the owner by themselves.<\/p>\n\n

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Not sure what your next step is?<\/h3>

Talk it through with our team — we can walk you through how a situation like yours is usually handled and what your options are.<\/p>

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What a claimant must prove under Florida’s test<\/h2>\n

A claimant must prove three things, and all three must be shown.<\/p>\n

The Fourth District Court of Appeal’s 2024 decision in Wurtzebach v. Flooring Depot FTL, Inc.<\/a> lists them. First, the owner dominated the company so completely that it had no independent existence. That makes the owner its alter ego. Second, the corporate form was used fraudulently or for an improper purpose. Third, the claimant was injured as a result.<\/p>\n

The same opinion quotes the Florida Supreme Court’s decision in Dania Jai-Alai Palace, Inc. v. Sykes (Fla. 1984). That case requires proof that the company was actually organized or used to mislead creditors or to perpetrate a fraud upon them.<\/p>\n

What courts look at when reviewing the company<\/h2>\n

Courts look at how the business actually ran, not only what its paperwork says. Common facts include:<\/p>\n