(DOWNLOAD) "Bendix Home Systems Inc. v. Hurston Enterprises Inc." by United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit # eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Bendix Home Systems Inc. v. Hurston Enterprises Inc.
- Author : United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- Release Date : January 30, 1978
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 71 KB
Description
Bendix Home Systems, Inc., a Michigan corporation, sued Hurston Enterprises, Inc., Capital Mobile Homes, Inc., and Service Contract Company, Inc., Florida corporations, to recover $45,121 owed Bendix from the sale of four custom built mobile homes to Capital. Service Contract Company counterclaimed against Bendix for $34,000 which Bendix owed Service for warranty, service and repair operations on mobile homes. The parties stipulated to the amounts involved. Because Capital was insolvent at the time of the suit, Bendix sought to set aside the separate corporate identities of the three companies and to aggregate their assets.1 the case was tried to the court which held that Bendix had not, as a matter of law, met its burden to demonstrate that the corporate entities should be disregarded and entered judgment for Bendix against Capital for $45,121 and Service against Bendix for $34,000. The trial court applied the test for disregard of corporate entities set out in Berger v. Columbia Broadcasting System, 453 F.2d 991, 995 (5 Cir. 1972). Although Berger involved a suit in a Florida district court, the law which was applied by agreement of the parties was that of New York. Id. at 994. We, however, are governed by the general rule that a federal court sitting in a diversity case must apply the law of the state in which it sits. Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins, 304 U.S. 64, 58 S. Ct. 817, 82 L. Ed. 1188 (1938).2 We must, therefore, determine whether there is any material difference between Florida's law and the test adopted by the trial court and whether the trial court was correct in its conclusion that there was no evidence of conduct warranting disregard of the corporate entity.