It's normal now, and as you mention "limited liability" now applies to all corporations. As grandparent poster mentioned, however, this sort of capability origi

It's normal now, and as you mention "limited liability" now applies to all corporations. As grandparent poster mentioned, however, this sort of capability originally required a special dispensation from the crown (or an act of Congress). Some examples are the "East India Tea Company", which was effectively one of the colonial arms of the British government. At some point we decided that this sort of thing should be available for everyone with the money and time to file the appropriate paperwork. It's really odd though since you can avoid things through incorporation that you can't avoid through other means -- debts that would carry through bankruptcy, and even many criminal issues (at least if they don't rise to the level to pierce the corporate veil).