Houston's, Inc. v. Hill

Plaintiff brought this action to recover a debt owed by Northwest Restaurant Supply Co. (Restaurant), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Northwest Hotel Supply Co., Inc. (Hotel), and to hold the other defendants liable for that debt.

Defendants Hill and Rogers were the sole shareholders of Hotel, a Portland business supplying equipment to hotel and restaurant kitchens. In 1975, Hotel bought a restaurant supply business in Seattle, creating a wholly-owned subsidiary, Restaurant, with $15,000 capital, to operate the business. Hotel sold inventory to Restaurant on open account and paid its bills.…