It is now well settled that a limited liability company insulates the owners from the debts of the company.
It is nevertheless reassuring when a court re-affirms basic LLC protections. In Dover Phila Heating v. SJS Restaurants 185 Ohio App.3d 107, 2009-Ohio-6187, the Ohio Court of Appeals for the Fifth Appellate District confirmed once again that members of a limited liability company generally have no responsibility for the debts of the entity. The case was decided in late 2009 and published in the April 5, 2010 Ohio State Bar Association Report. Citing another Ohio case, Slimans Printing Inc. v. Velo Internatl., Stark App. No. 2004CA00095, 2005-Ohio-173, 2005 WL 100963, ¶ 13, the court noted that pursuant to Ohio Revised Code §1705.48(B),
Neither the members of the limited liability company nor any managers of the limited liability company are personally liable to satisfy any judgment, decree, or order of a court for, or are personally liable to satisfy in any other manner, a debt, obligation, or liability of the company solely by reason of being a member or manager of the limited liability company.
While there is nothing surprising in this recent decision, it is always good to see a court re-affirming the basic protections of a limited liability company.