Corporate veil

corporate veil: the principle that corporations are legal entities separate from their shareholders, such that those shareholders, be they individuals or corporations themselves, cannot be liable for the debts and other obligations of the company in which they hold their shares. In the context of company litigation, the corporate veil can be pierced and shareholders can be held personally liable however if there has been an impropriety and a corporate structure has been used in order to conceal that impropriety.