In Morris v. New York State Dept. of Taxation and Finance (82 NY2d 135 [1993] the Court of Appeals stated, "an attempt of a third party to pierce the corporate veil does not constitute a cause of action independent of that against the corporation." Id at 141. However, in this context, "independent" does not mean "separate"; rather, the Court of Appeals emphasized that the cause of action is not independent because it "assumes that the corporation itself is liable for the obligation sought to be imposed." Id.