Opinion ID: 1123588
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: summary judgment as to v. wendall dockum

Text: Seitsinger urges that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment to Wendall Dockum individually, because Wendall Dockum, on occasion, had acted in his individual capacity rather than as a corporate entity. Specifically, Wendall Dockum had signed individually when he sold Dockum Pontiac Inc. Seitsinger attached to his response opposing the motion for summary judgment a copy of the sales contract for the sale of the company showing him in his individual capacity. Wendall Dockum replies that he did not individually sell the vehicle to Seitsinger, and made no representations about it. He points out that his sale of Dockum Pontiac had nothing to do with the transaction between Seitsinger and Dockum Pontiac; in fact the sale of the company occurred almost two years later. His name in his individual capacity appears nowhere on the sales contract between Dockum Pontiac and Seitsinger. The general rule is that the individual and the corporation are two separate and distinct legal entities. The distinction is not ignored unless it can be shown that there is a scheme to defraud. Hulme v. Springfield Life Insurance Co., Inc., 565 P.2d 666, 670 (Okla. 1977). [3] Officers of a corporation are not generally liable to third persons if they act within the power and purpose of the corporation and do not purport to bind themselves individually. Hall v. Sullivan-Dollars Inc., 471 P.2d 453, 455 (Okla. 1970). The only way a corporation can act is through its officers, directors and employees. To permit liability when the officer is acting within the scope of the corporation would be, in essence, a total disregard of the corporate entity. Id. As authority Seitsinger cites Watkins v. Cotton, 180 Okla. 73, 67 P.2d 957 (1937). We find that Watkins better supports the position of Wendall Dockum. There the issue was whether both the corporation and the corporate president were liable for breaches of contract. The contracts were between the plaintiff and the corporation. There was no written evidence that the president of the corporation intended to bind himself individually, or that he was acting outside the purpose and authority of the corporation. The trial court held that the president did not act to bind himself individually. We agreed, stating that the president is not liable at law because of position as an officer or director of the corporation... . Id., 67 P.2d at 958. It is clear that the trial court correctly granted summary judgment in favor of Wendall Dockum. Seitsinger presented nothing to indicate that Wendall Dockum was acting so as to bind himself individually. In fact, the only way that Wendall Dockum was connected to the transaction was as the owner of Dockum Pontiac Inc. An employee of the company dealt with Seitsinger. Furthermore, Seitsinger did not allege, as required by Hulme, that the corporate veil should be pierced because of a scheme to defraud.