10-732
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10-732. Shareholder agreements A. An agreement among the shareholders of a corporation that complies with this section is effective among the shareholders and the corporation even though it is inconsistent with one or more other provisions of chapters 1 through 17 of this title if it meets any of the following conditions: 1. Restricts the discretion or powers of the board of directors. 2. Governs the authorization or making of distributions whether or not in proportion to ownership of shares, subject to the limitations in section 10-640. 3. Establishes who shall be directors or officers of the corporation, their terms and conditions of office or employment or their manner of selection or removal. 4. Governs, in general or in regard to specific matters, the exercise or division of voting power by or between the shareholders and directors or by or among any of them, including use of weighted voting rights or director proxies. 5. Establishes the terms and conditions of any agreement for the transfer or use of property or the provision of services between the corporation and any shareholder, director, officer or employee of the corporation or among any of them. 6. Transfers to one or more shareholders or other persons all or part of the authority to exercise the corporate powers or to manage the business and affairs of the corporation, including the resolution of any issue about which there exists a deadlock among directors or shareholders. 7. Requires dissolution of the corporation at the request of one or more of the shareholders or on the occurrence of a specified event or contingency. 8. Establishes the terms and conditions of employment of shareholders. 9. Addresses the use of arbitration or other forms of dispute resolution to resolve disputes among shareholders. 10. Restricts the transfer of shares. 11. Otherwise governs the exercise of the corporate powers or the management of the business and affairs of the corporation, its liquidation and dissolution or the relationship among the shareholders, the directors and the corporation, or among any of them. B. An agreement authorized by this section shall be: 1. Set forth either: (a) In the articles of incorporation or bylaws and approved by all persons who are shareholders at the time of the agreement. (b) In a written agreement that is signed by all persons who are shareholders at the time of the agreement and that is filed with the corporation. 2. Subject to amendment or termination only by all persons who are shareholders at the time of the amendment, unless the agreement provides otherwise. 3. Valid for ten years, unless the agreement provides otherwise. C. An agreement authorized by this section is enforceable by any party to the agreement against any other party to the agreement. The existence of an agreement authorized by this section shall be noted conspicuously on the front or back of each certificate for outstanding shares or on the information statement required by section 10-626, subsection B. The failure to note the existence of the agreement on the certificate or information statement does not affect the validity of the agreement or any action taken pursuant to it. Any purchaser of shares who at the time of purchase did not have knowledge of the existence of the agreement is entitled to rescission of the purchase. A purchaser shall be deemed to have knowledge of the existence of the agreement if its existence is noted on the certificate or information statement for the shares in compliance with this subsection and, if the shares are not represented by a certificate, the information statement is delivered to the purchaser at or before the time of purchase of the shares or the purchaser has actual notice of the existence of the agreement at the time of purchase. An action to enforce the right of rescission authorized by this subsection must be commenced within the earlier of ninety days after discovery of the existence of the agreement or two years after the time of the purchase of the shares. D. An agreement authorized by this section ceases to be effective when shares of the corporation are listed on a national securities exchange or are regularly traded in a market maintained by one or more members of a national or affiliated securities association. If the agreement ceases to be effective for any reason, the board of directors, if the agreement is contained or referred to in the corporation's articles of incorporation or bylaws, may adopt an amendment to the articles of incorporation or bylaws, without shareholder action, to delete the agreement and any references to it. E. An agreement that is authorized by this section and that limits the discretion or powers of the board of directors relieves the directors of and imposes on the person or persons in whom such discretion or powers are vested liability for acts or omissions imposed by law on directors to the extent that the discretion or powers of the directors are limited by the agreement. F. The existence or performance of an agreement authorized by this section is not a ground for imposing personal liability on any shareholder for the acts or debts of the corporation even if the agreement or its performance treats the corporation as if it were a partnership or results in failure to observe the corporate formalities otherwise applicable to the matters governed by the agreement. G. Incorporators or subscribers for shares may act as shareholders with respect to an agreement authorized by this section if no shares have been issued when the agreement is made. H. This section does not apply to, limit or invalidate agreements that are otherwise valid or authorized without regard to this section, including without limitation shareholder agreements between or among some or all of the shareholders or agreements between or among the corporation and one or more shareholders. The procedure set forth in this section is not the exclusive method of agreement among shareholders or among shareholders and the corporation with respect to any of the matters described in this section. |