Part I
Owen Monie was the sole incorporator of Swimper, Inc., a corporation designed to operate a swimming pool in Tampa that was open 12 months a year. The business was incorporated according to Florida law in January 2013, with Monie as the sole director and shareholder. Owen contributed $95,000 of starting capital, which was just enough to purchase the property, resurface and repair the current pool, finance initial advertising, and leave a reserve of $10,000. The corporation had no liability insurance. On March 15, the pool opened for business. Over the next few months, the corporation operated with a profit. In July, Monie took a two-week vacation in Belize and used a check from the company bank account to purchase his airline ticket.
In September, Monie decided to have the pool deck replaced. Because business had slowed and the corporation's bank account did not have sufficient funds, Monie wrote a personal check to cover the work. Monie feared he would not make enough money through the winter to turn a profit, so he decided to take a part-time job selling real estate. Monie used the swimming pool's office phone to make his calls and made a substantial profit. On February 15, a child with a mild learning disability drowned in the pool. The parents brought a suit for wrongful death against Swimper, Inc. and against Monie in his individual capacity as owner. At the time of the suit, the corporation had the $10,000 reserve and less than $1,500 in its bank account. Because of these limited funds, the child's parents hoped to recover most of their damages directly from Monie.
Will the parents be successful in holding Owen Monie liable in his individual capacity? If not why not?
What arguments can be made to hold Owen Monie liable for any debt of the corporation arising from this death?
Should the parents prevail?
How could Monie have protected himself against such potential liability?
Can an owner-manager of a small corporation guarantee that he or she will not be held liable for the corporation's debts?
Part II
You are a third-year law student with a job as an intern with Hook, Lyne, and Sinker. Your first assignment is to help a partner in the employment law section of the firm. The partner asks you to provide information on the legality of monitoring employee use of the Internet at work and requesting employees to "friend" their managers on Facebook or other social media websites. Provide references to at least two outside sources in your response.