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Corporations Code Section 7132. Optional Provisions in Articles of Incorporation.

(a) The articles of incorporation may set forth any or all of the following provisions, which shall not be effective unless expressly provided in the articles:

(1) A provision limiting the duration of the corporation’s existence to a specified date.

(2) A provision conferring upon the holders of any evidences of indebtedness, issued or to be issued by a corporation the right to vote in the election of directors and on any other matters on which members may vote under this part even if the corporation does not have members.

(3) A provision conferring upon members the right to determine the consideration for which memberships shall be issued.

(4) In the case of a subordinate corporation instituted or created under the authority of a head organization, a provision setting forth either or both of the following:

(A) That the subordinate corporation shall dissolve whenever its charter is surrendered to, taken away by, or revoked by the head organization granting it.

(B) That in the event of its dissolution pursuant to an article provision allowed by subparagraph (A) or in the event of its dissolution for any reason, any assets of the corporation after compliance with the applicable provisions of Chapters 15 (commencing with Section 8510), 16 (commencing with Section 8610), and 17 (commencing with Section 8710) shall be distributed to the head organization.

(b) Nothing contained in subdivision (a) shall affect the enforceability, as between the parties thereto, of any lawful agreement not otherwise contrary to public policy.

(c) The articles of incorporation may set forth any or all of the following provisions:

(1) The names and addresses of the persons appointed to act as initial directors.

(2) Provisions concerning the transfer of memberships, in accordance with Section 7320.

(3) The classes of members, if any, and if there are two or more classes, the rights, privileges, preferences, restrictions and conditions attaching to each class.

(4) A provision which would allow any member to have more or less than one vote in any election or other matter presented to the members for a vote.

(5) A provision that requires an amendment to the articles, as provided in subdivision (a) of Section 7812, or to the bylaws, and any amendment or repeal of that amendment, to be approved in writing by a specified person or persons other than the board or the members. However, this approval requirement, unless the articles specify otherwise, shall not apply if any of the following circumstances exist:

(A) The specified person or persons have died or ceased to exist.

(B) If the right of the specified person or persons to approve is in the capacity of an officer, trustee, or other status and the office, trust, or status has ceased to exist.

(C) If the corporation has a specific proposal for amendment or repeal, and the corporation has provided written notice of that proposal, including a copy of the proposal, to the specified person or persons at the most recent address for each of them, based on the corporation’s records, and the corporation has not received written approval or nonapproval within the period specified in the notice, which shall not be less than 10 nor more than 30 days commencing at least 20 days after the notice has been provided.

(6) Any other provision, not in conflict with law, for the management of the activities and for the conduct of the affairs of the corporation, including any provision which is required or permitted by this part to be stated in the bylaws.

Corporations Code Section 7130. Requirements of Articles of Incorporation.

The articles of incorporation of a corporation formed under this part shall set forth the following:

(a) The name of the corporation.

(b)

(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the following statement: “This corporation is a nonprofit mutual benefit corporation organized under the Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation Law. The purpose of this corporation is to engage in any lawful act or activity, other than credit union business, for which a corporation may be organized under such law.”

(2) In the case of a corporation formed under this part that is subject to the California Credit Union Law, the articles shall set forth a statement of purpose that is prescribed in the applicable provisions of the California Credit Union Law.

(3) The articles may include a further definition of the corporation’s purposes.

(c) The name and address in this state of the corporation’s initial agent for service of process in accordance with subdivision (b) of Section 8210.

Corporations Code Section 5233. “Self-Dealing” Transactions; Interested Directors.

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), for the purpose of this section, a self-dealing transaction means a transaction to which the corporation is a party and in which one or more of its directors has a material financial interest and which does not meet the requirements of paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of subdivision (d). Such a director is an “interested director” for the purpose of this section.

(b) The provisions of this section do not apply to any of the following:

(1) An action of the board fixing the compensation of a director as a director or officer of the corporation.

(2) A transaction which is part of a public or charitable program of the corporation if it: (i) is approved or authorized by the corporation in good faith and without unjustified favoritism; and (ii) results in a benefit to one or more directors or their families because they are in the class of persons intended to be benefited by the public or charitable program.

(3) A transaction, of which the interested director or directors have no actual knowledge, and which does not exceed the lesser of 1 percent of the gross receipts of the corporation for the preceding fiscal year or one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000).

(c) The Attorney General or, if the Attorney General is joined as an indispensable party, any of the following may bring an action in the superior court of the proper county for the remedies specified in subdivision (h):

(1) The corporation, or a member asserting the right in the name of the corporation pursuant to Section 5710.

(2) A director of the corporation.

(3) An officer of the corporation.

(4) Any person granted realtor status by the Attorney General.

(d) In any action brought under subdivision (c) the remedies specified in subdivision (h) shall not be granted if:

(1) The Attorney General, or the court in an action in which the Attorney General is an indispensable party, has approved the transaction before or after it was consummated; or

(2) The following facts are established:

(A) The corporation entered into the transaction for its own benefit;

(B) The transaction was fair and reasonable as to the corporation at the time the corporation entered into the transaction;

(C) Prior to consummating the transaction or any part thereof the board authorized or approved the transaction in good faith by a vote of a majority of the directors then in office without counting the vote of the interested director or directors, and with knowledge of the material facts concerning the transaction and the director’s interest in the transaction. Except as provided in paragraph (3) of this subdivision, action by a committee of the board shall not satisfy this paragraph; and

(D) (i) Prior to authorizing or approving the transaction the board considered and in good faith determined after reasonable investigation under the circumstances that the corporation could not have obtained a more advantageous arrangement with reasonable effort under the circumstances or (ii) the corporation in fact could not have obtained a more advantageous arrangement with reasonable effort under the circumstances; or

(3) The following facts are established:

(A) A committee or person authorized by the board approved the transaction in a manner consistent with the standards set forth in paragraph (2) of this subdivision;

(B) It was not reasonably practicable to obtain approval of the board prior to entering into the transaction; and

(C) The board, after determining in good faith that the conditions of subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this paragraph were satisfied, ratified the transaction at its next meeting by a vote of the majority of the directors then in office without counting the vote of the interested director or directors.

(e) Except as provided in subdivision (f), an action under subdivision (c) must be filed within two years after written notice setting forth the material facts of the transaction and the director’ s interest in the transaction is filed with the Attorney General in accordance with such regulations, if any, as the Attorney General may adopt or, if no such notice is filed, within three years after the transaction occurred, except for the Attorney General, who shall have 10 years after the transaction occurred within which to file an action.

(f) In any action for breach of an obligation of the corporation owed to an interested director, where the obligation arises from a self-dealing transaction which has not been approved as provided in subdivision (d), the court may, by way of offset only, make any order authorized by subdivision (h), notwithstanding the expiration of the applicable period specified in subdivision (e).

(g) Interested directors may be counted in determining the presence of a quorum at a meeting of the board which authorizes, approves or ratifies a contract or transaction.

(h) If a self-dealing transaction has taken place, the interested director or directors shall do such things and pay such damages as in the discretion of the court will provide an equitable and fair remedy to the corporation, taking into account any benefit received by the corporation and whether the interested director or directors acted in good faith and with intent to further the best interest of the corporation. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the court may order the director to do any or all of the following:

(1) Account for any profits made from such transaction, and pay them to the corporation;

(2) Pay the corporation the value of the use of any of its property used in such transaction; and

(3) Return or replace any property lost to the corporation as a result of such transaction, together with any income or appreciation lost to the corporation by reason of such transaction, or account for any proceeds of sale of such property, and pay the proceeds to the corporation together with interest at the legal rate. The court may award prejudgment interest to the extent allowed in Section 3287 or 3288 of the Civil Code. In addition, the court may, in its discretion, grant exemplary damages for a fraudulent or malicious violation of this section.

Corporations Code Section 5220. Director Terms of Office; Designating Directors.

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (d), directors shall be elected for the terms, not longer than four years, as are fixed in the articles or bylaws. However, the terms of directors of a corporation without members may be up to six years. In the absence of any provision in the articles or bylaws, the term shall be one year. The articles or bylaws may provide for staggering the terms of directors by dividing the total number of directors into groups of one or more directors. The terms of office of the several groups and the number of directors in each group need not be uniform. No amendment of the articles or bylaws may extend the term of a director beyond that for which the director was elected, nor may any bylaw provision increasing the terms of directors be adopted without approval of the members (Section 5034).

(b) Unless the articles or bylaws otherwise provide, each director, including a director elected to fill a vacancy, shall hold office until the expiration of the term for which elected and until a successor has been elected and qualified, unless the director has been removed from office.

(c) The articles or bylaws may provide for the election of one or more directors by the members of any class voting as a class.

(d) For the purposes of this subdivision, “designator” means one or more designators. Subdivisions (a) through (c) notwithstanding, all or any portion of the directors authorized in the articles or bylaws of a corporation may hold office by virtue of designation or selection by a specified designator as provided by the articles or bylaws rather than by election. Such directors shall continue in office for the term prescribed by the governing article or bylaw provision, or, if there is no term prescribed, until the governing article or bylaw provision is duly amended or repealed, except as provided in subdivision (e) of Section 5222. A bylaw provision authorized by this subdivision may be adopted, amended, or repealed only by approval of the members (Section 5034) except as provided in subdivision (d) of Section 5150. Unless otherwise provided in the articles or bylaws, the entitlement to designate or select a director or directors shall cease if any of the following circumstances exist:

(1) The specified designator of that director or directors has died or ceased to exist.

(2) If the entitlement of the specified designator of that director or directors to designate is in the capacity of an officer, trustee, or other status and the office, trust, or status has ceased to exist.

(e) If a corporation has not issued memberships and (1) all the directors resign, die, or become incompetent, or (2) a corporation’s initial directors have not been named in the articles and all incorporators resign, die, or become incompetent before the election of the initial directors, the superior court of any county may appoint directors of the corporation upon application by any party in interest.

Corporations Code Section 5078. “Voting Power” Defined.

“Voting power” means the power to vote for the election of directors at the time any determination of voting power is made and does not include the right to vote upon the happening of some condition or event which has not yet occurred. In any case where different classes of memberships are entitled to vote as separate classes for different members of the board, the determination of percentage of voting power shall be made on the basis of the percentage of the total number of authorized directors which the memberships in question (whether of one or more classes) have the power to elect in an election at which all memberships then entitled to vote for the election of any directors are voted.

Corporations Code Section 5069. “Proxy” and “Signed” Defined.

“Proxy” means a written authorization signed by a member or the member’s attorney in fact giving another person or persons power to vote on behalf of such member. “Signed” for the purpose of this section means the placing of the member’s name on the proxy (whether by manual signature, typewriting, telegraphic transmission or otherwise) by the member or such member’s attorney in fact.