Reply To: Chometz Now – Where May We Buy it?

Joseph, the first and easy answer is that in dinei momonos the rule is that dina demalchusa defines ownership. If the malchusa has created the corporate entity, halacha recognises it for the same purposes.

The second answer is that we have a corporate concept in halacha too, i.e. a tzibur. A tzibur owns property, and we say Tzibur eino meis, i.e. it has continuous existence even as its individual members join and leave.

But here it’s even simpler. It doesn’t matter whether we regard the company as if it were a person. What matters is what is in the minds of the buyer and seller. There is a difference whether I am selling the inventory or the entire business. Even an unincorporated business would have the same din; if I sell the business as a going concern, then I am selling everything. If I continue working in the store, I am obviously doing so as the new owner’s employee.