Releases protecting Caribbean Petroleum Corp. from claims in its Chapter 11 liquidation may not be extended to shield individual executives from hundreds of tort lawsuits filed in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware has ruled.

The court held plaintiffs with tort claims related to a 2009 explosion at the company’s Puerto Rico plant may pierce the corporate veil because they are raising unique claims that cannot be pursued by a creditor.