Durchgriff liability

Durchgriff liability, often described as piercing the corporate veil, is an exceptional doctrine in Swiss corporate law. It may allow creditors to look beyond a legal entity and claim against controlling persons when the separate personality of the company is abused. Relevant factors include domination, commingling of assets, undercapitalisation, deception or use of the entity to evade obligations. The threshold is high: limited liability remains the rule for corporations and limited liability companies. Courts focus on abuse of rights and the concrete economic reality.