Geringer V. Wildhorn Ranch Inc.

Name

Geringer V. Wildhorn Ranch, Inc. Defendant and Respondent, No. 87-F-1213, December 14, 1988, United States District Court, D. Colorado.

Procedural History

In this case the plaintiff (Diane Geringer) is required to show that there was negligence on the part of the defendant Mr. Watters in the case of a wrongful death of her husband and minor son due to corporate alter ego. Corporate alter ego is when an individual disregards company formalities of the corporation with personal affairs.

Facts

M. R. Watters (defendant) was considered to be the original owner of the resort; however, Mr. Watters claimed that the ownership was handed over to Wildhorn Ranch Inc. The claim also included the current work status of Mr. Watters as a management consultant to the time-share department of the association of homeowners. The three members of the Board of Directors owned the Ranch initially; these three individuals included M.R. Watters, wife Doris and son Davis. Les Bretzke, the other defendant, was an independent contractor. The independent contractor provided repair construction and repair services to the association of the homeowners and the Resort. At the trial, the evidence showed that Mr. Bretzke had a major role in the operations of the Resort, because of participation in controlling the employees of the resort and involvement in managing the day-to-day operations of the Resort. Mr. Bretzke were also involved in managing the overall boat repairs for the resort.

A firm which was employed on contract in the resort for horse riding facilities employed this ranch-hand for the resort. The Plaintiff maintains that, Wildhorn Ranch, Inc. is the alter ego of Mr. Watters (for the defendant, this implies that the parties should not be treated separately as a separate entity; rather, under the provisions of the law they should be treated as a single entity). The law of alter ego allows a party to pierce the corporate veil and pursue the shareholders of the corporation...