In its award of 15 July 2009 the Florida Court of Appeal (Third District) ruled that Florida Courts had jurisdiction over a parent company (HELM), but not over its Dutch subsidiary company (Vos) that had caused severe damage in Haiti. Vos had purchased glycerine from China and, although the glycerine was impure and tainted, it had proceeded to sell the glycerine to one of its customers in Haiti after affixing false labels to it. In its judgment of 2 July 2015, the Circuit Court of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit in and for Miami-Dade County declined to pierce the corporate veil under Dutch law and to hold HELM liable for the ‘despicable’ alleged actions of its subsidiary. In March 2016 an appeal has been lodged against the Court’s award with the Florida Court of Appeal (Third District).
European Company Law