The Mattingly Law Firm v. Henson
Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals
466 P.3d 590 (2019)

- Written by Sean Carroll, JD
Facts
The Mattingly Law Firm (Mattingly) (plaintiff) provided legal services for Melvin Henson (defendant). Mattingly sued Henson to collect unpaid legal bills. The trial court granted Mattingly a default judgment. After over two years of Henson not paying on the judgment, Mattingly moved for a hearing on Henson’s assets. At the hearing, it was determined that Henson was insolvent. However, Henson presented evidence of two limited-liability companies (LLCs) at which he claimed to work. Henson’s wife was the sole member of both LLCs, but Henson acted as the LLCs’ primary decision-maker for extended periods of time. Also, Henson had the unilateral ability to make cash withdrawals from the LLCs for personal use and did so on many occasions. Indeed, Henson acknowledged that he and his wife basically “lived out” of the LLCs. Mattingly filed a motion to assign any interest Henson had in the LLCs to Mattingly to satisfy the underlying judgment. The trial court held that the LLCs were Henson’s alter egos and pierced the veil of the entities to grant Mattingly’s requested relief. Henson appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Buettner, J.)
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