Naming a Corporation and the Corporation's Owner as Defendants on a Lawsuit

[BoilerVette]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Indiana

I was named personally on a lawsuit that I lost because I was never properly notified my corporation and I were being sued. The notice was sent to the wrong address, I never showed up in court and lost due to summary judgment. The plaintiff named My Corporation and My Name as defendants. The main reason I incorporated was to protect my personal assets from any action against the corporation - like everyone else who incorporates their business.

Can a Motion be submitted to have my name removed from the judgment? Has anyone else experienced this? Is naming the corporation and the owner as defendants a common legal practice?

 

[justalayman]

that would depend on how long ago it was and how service is claimed to have been perfected. what court was this in (small claims or a higher court?)

 

[Mark Maroon]

I was named personally on a lawsuit that I lost because I was never properly notified my corporation and I were being sued. The notice was sent to the wrong address, I never showed up in court and lost due to summary judgment. The plaintiff named My Corporation and My Name as defendants. The main reason I incorporated was to protect my personal assets from any action against the corporation - like everyone else who incorporates their business.

Can a Motion be submitted to have my name removed from the judgment? Has anyone else experienced this? Is naming the corporation and the owner as defendants a common legal practice?

Whether or not you can be named individually along with your company depends on the plaintiff's cause of action and on what you personally did. For instance, and I am just making up a weird example here, if you killed the owner of a competing company so that your company could get a government contract, then you would be liable for that act - you can't escape personal liability for killing someone just because you did it on behalf of your company.

If you don't think that you or your company were liable, and you want to try and fight the default judgment, then the first thing that you have to do is try and open or strike the default judgment due to lack of valid service. You'll have to look at how they claim you were served and what the rules of service are for the court that you were sued in. You might want to consult with an attorney.