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Article
A Corporation Has No Soul, and Doesn't Go to Church: Relating the Doctrine of Piercing the Veil to Burwell v. Hobby Lobby
South Carolina Law Review (2015)
  • Carol Goforth
Abstract
The U.S. Supreme Court's opinion in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby found for the first time, that shareholders and directors in a for-profit corporation could assert "free exercise" claims ostensibly on behalf of the corporation. While other commentators have been quick to look at what this means under general constitutional and business law principles, this article examines the decision with a particular focus on case law dealing with the doctrine of piercing of the corporate veil. Piercing cases are plentiful and can be found in every state. An examination of these cases provides strong support for the notion that allowing individuals in control of a for-profit corporation to assert their religious views through the corporation is inconsistent with the prior understanding of what it means to have and operate a business corporation.
Keywords
  • Burwell v. Hobby Lobby,
  • Free Exercise Clause
Disciplines
Publication Date
2015
Citation Information
Carol Goforth. "A Corporation Has No Soul, and Doesn't Go to Church: Relating the Doctrine of Piercing the Veil to Burwell v. Hobby Lobby" South Carolina Law Review Vol. 67 (2015)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/carol_goforth/7/