Gilford Motor Co Ltd v Horne [1933] Ch 935 is a UK company law case concerning piercing the corporate veil. It gives an example of when courts will treat shareholders and a company as one, in a situation where a company is used as an instrument of fraud.
Horne was a car salesman working for Gilford Motor Co Ltd. His contract stated that he was not allowed to solicit the company’s customers for a period after leaving. Later, he left Gilford and set up his own company. He was found that he approached his former customers for business. Gilford sued Horne for breaking the promise. He defended himself by stating that his company was not liable as it is a separate legal entity.
The court held that the company was sham and granted an injunction against his company as well as him. The significance of this case is that the court will went behind the veil of incorporation in case a company is formed to evade certain obligations (i.e. lifting the corporate veil).
You can learn more about this topic with our Company Law notes.
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