Civil Conspiracy in the Corporate Context

• Main Author: LEE, Pey Woan
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2016
• Subjects: Commercial Law; Torts
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/1823; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sol_research/article/3775/viewcontent/CivilConspiracyCorporateContext_2016_TLJ_afv.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

This article examines the issues that arise when the tort ofconspiracy by unlawful means is used, as an alternative to veil-piercing,either to extend a company’s liability to its controllers, or to enable acontroller’s creditors to reach the assets of company under his or her control.It observes that the tort of conspiracy is a particularly potent mechanism forthese purposes because of its potentially broad reach. A liberal application ofconspiracy liability to companies and their insiders would therefore underminethe company’s separate legal status as well as the benefits of incorporation.For that reason, the application of the tort, and of private law principles ingeneral, is not free from the policy debates that inform veil-piercing cases. Akeen appreciation of how these policies are engaged is therefore necessary forthe proper delineation of the tort in the corporate context.