Part A. Short Title, Definitions, and Notice.


  • Current through October 23, 2012
  • This chapter may be cited as the "Business Corporation Act of 2010".

    (July 2, 2011, D.C. Law 18-378, § 2, 58 DCR 1720.)

    HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES

    Legislative History of Laws

    For history of Law 18-378, see notes under § 29-101.01.

    Editor's Notes

    Former § 29-301.01 has been recodified as § 29A-301.01.

  • Current through October 23, 2012 Back to Top
  • For the purpose of this chapter, the term:

    (1) "Authorized shares" means the shares of all classes a domestic or foreign corporation is authorized to issue.

    (2) "Bylaws" means the code of rules, other than the articles of incorporation, adopted for the regulation and governance of the internal affairs of the corporation, regardless of the name or names used to refer to those rules.

    (3) "Conspicuous" means so written, displayed, or presented that a reasonable person against whom it is to operate should have noticed it. Conspicuous terms shall include:

    (A) A heading in capitals equal to or greater in size than the surrounding text, or in contrasting type, font, or color to the surrounding text of the same or lesser size; and

    (B) Language in the body of a record or display in larger type than the surrounding text, or in contrasting type, font, or color to the surrounding text of the same size, or set off from surrounding text of the same size by symbols or other marks that call attention to the language.

    (4) "Corporation", "domestic corporation", or "domestic business corporation" means a corporation for profit, which is not a foreign corporation, incorporated under or subject to this chapter.

    (5) "Distribution" means a direct or indirect transfer of money or other property, except a corporation's own shares, or incurrence of indebtedness by the corporation to or for the benefit of its shareholders in respect of any of its shares. A distribution may be in the form of:

    (A) A declaration or payment of a dividend;

    (B) A purchase, redemption, or other acquisition of shares;

    (C) A distribution of indebtedness; or

    (D) Another method.

    (6) "Domestic unincorporated entity" means an unincorporated entity whose internal affairs are governed by the laws of the District.

    (7) "Electronic" means relating to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities.

    (8) "Electronic transmission" or "electronically transmitted" means any process of communication not directly involving the physical transfer of paper that is suitable for the retention, retrieval, and reproduction of information by the recipient.

    (9) "Eligible interests" means interests or shares.

    (10) "Employee" shall include an officer but not a director. A director may accept duties that make the director also an employee.

    (11) "Expenses" means reasonable expenses of any kind that are incurred in connection with a matter.

    (12) "Foreign corporation" means a corporation incorporated under a law other than the law of the District which would be a business corporation if incorporated under the laws of the District.

    (13) "Foreign nonprofit corporation" means a corporation incorporated under a law other than the law of the District, which would be a nonprofit corporation if incorporated under the laws of the District.

    (14) "Foreign unincorporated entity" means an unincorporated entity whose internal affairs are governed by an organic law of a jurisdiction other than the District.

    (15) "Owner liability" means personal liability for a debt, obligation, or liability of a domestic or foreign business or nonprofit corporation or unincorporated entity that is imposed on a person:

    (A) Solely by reason of the person's status as a shareholder, member, or interest holder; or

    (B) By the articles of incorporation, bylaws, or an organic document under a provision of the organic law of an entity authorizing the articles of incorporation, bylaws, or an organic document to make one or more specified shareholders, members, or interest holders liable in their capacity as shareholders, members, or interest holders for all or specified debts, obligations, or liabilities of the entity.

    (16) "Public corporation" means a corporation that has shares listed on a national securities exchange or regularly traded in a market maintained by one or more members of a national securities association.

    (17) "Record date" means the date established under subchapter IV or V of this chapter on which a corporation determines the identity of its shareholders and their shareholdings for purposes of this chapter. The determinations shall be made as of the close of business on the record date unless another time for doing so is specified when the record date is fixed.

    (18) "Secretary" means the corporate officer to whom the board of directors has delegated responsibility under § 29-306.40(c) for custody of the minutes of the meetings of the board of directors and of the shareholders and for authenticating records of the corporation.

    (19) "Shareholder" means the person in whose name shares are registered in the records of a corporation or the beneficial owner of shares to the extent of the rights granted by a nominee certificate on file with the corporation.

    (20) "Shares" means the units into which the proprietary interests in a corporation are divided.

    (21) "Subscriber" means a person that subscribes for shares in a corporation, whether before or after incorporation.

    (22) "Unincorporated entity" means an entity that either has a separate legal existence or has the power to acquire an estate in real property in its own name and that is not a domestic or foreign business or nonprofit corporation, an estate, a trust, a state, the United States, or a foreign government. The term "unincorporated entity" shall include a general partnership, limited liability company, limited partnership, limited cooperative association, business or statutory trust, joint stock association, and unincorporated nonprofit association.

    (23) "Vote", "voting", or "casting a vote" includes the giving of consent without a meeting. The term "vote", "voting", "casting a vote" shall not include either recording the fact of abstention or failing to vote for a candidate or for approval or disapproval of a matter, whether or not the person entitled to vote characterizes the conduct as voting or casting a vote.

    (24) "Voting group" means all shares of one or more classes or series that, under the articles of incorporation or this chapter, are entitled to vote and be counted together collectively on a matter at a meeting of shareholders. All shares entitled by the articles of incorporation or this chapter to vote generally on the matter are, for that purpose, a single voting group.

    (25) "Voting power" means the current power to vote in the election of directors or to vote on approval of any type of fundamental transaction. For the purposes of this paragraph, the term "fundamental transaction" means an amendment of the articles of incorporation or bylaws, merger, interest exchange, sale of all or substantially all of the assets, domestication, conversion, or dissolution of a corporation.

    (July 2, 2011, D.C. Law 18-378, § 2, 58 DCR 1720.)

    HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES

    Legislative History of Laws

    For history of Law 18-378, see notes under § 29-101.01.

    Editor's Notes

    Former § 29-301.02 has been recodified as § 29A-301.02.

  • Current through October 23, 2012 Back to Top
  • (a) Notice under this chapter shall be in the form of a record unless oral notice is authorized by this chapter or is reasonable under the circumstances.

    (b) Notice may be communicated in person or by delivery. If these forms of communication are impracticable, notice may be communicated by a newspaper of general circulation in the area where published, or by radio, television, or other form of public broadcast communication, including the Internet.

    (c) Notice in the form of a record by a domestic or qualified foreign corporation to a shareholder shall be effective:

    (1) Upon deposit in the United States mail or with a commercial delivery service, if the postage or delivery charge is paid and the notice is correctly addressed to the shareholder's address shown in the corporation's current record of shareholders; or

    (2) When given if the notice is delivered in any other manner that the member has authorized.

    (d) Notice to a domestic or qualified foreign corporation may be delivered to its registered agent or to the corporation or its secretary at its principal office shown in its most recent biennial report or, in the case of a foreign corporation that has not yet delivered a biennial report, in its application for a certificate of registration.

    (e) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c) of this section, notice shall be effective at the earliest of the following:

    (1) When received;

    (2) When left at the recipient's residence or usual place of business;

    (3) Five days after its deposit in the United States mail or with a commercial delivery service, if the postage or delivery charge is paid and the notice is correctly addressed; or

    (4) On the date shown on the return receipt, if sent by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, or by commercial delivery service.

    (f) Oral notice shall be effective when communicated, if communicated in a comprehensible manner.

    (g) If this chapter prescribes notice requirements for particular circumstances, those requirements shall govern. If bylaws prescribe notice requirements not inconsistent with this section or other provisions of this chapter, those requirements shall govern.

    (h) With respect to electronic communications:

    (1) Unless otherwise provided in the articles of incorporation or bylaws, or otherwise agreed between the sender and the recipient, an electronic communication is received when:

    (A) It enters an information processing system that the recipient has designated or uses for the purpose of receiving electronic records or information of the type sent and from which the recipient is able to retrieve the electronic record; and

    (B) It is in a form capable of being processed by that system.

    (2) An electronic communication is received under paragraph (1) of this subsection even if no individual is aware of its receipt.

    (3) Receipt of an electronic acknowledgment from an information processing system described in paragraph (1) of this subsection shall establish that a record was received but, by itself, shall not establish that the content sent corresponds to the content received.

    (i) An authorization by a member of delivery of notices or communications by email or similar electronic means may be revoked by the member by notice to the corporation in the form of a record. The authorization shall be deemed revoked if:

    (A) The corporation is unable to deliver 2 consecutive notices or other communications to the member in the manner authorized; and

    (B) The inability becomes known to the secretary or other person responsible for giving the notice or other communication, but the failure to treat the inability as a revocation shall not invalidate any meeting or other action.

    (July 2, 2011, D.C. Law 18-378, § 2, 58 DCR 1720.)

    HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES

    Legislative History of Laws

    For history of Law 18-378, see notes under § 29-101.01.

    Editor's Notes

    Former § 29-301.03 has been recodified as § 29A-301.03.

  • Current through October 23, 2012 Back to Top
  • (a) For the purposes of this subsection, the term:

    (1) "Filed document" means a document filed with the Mayor under any provision of this chapter except § 29-102.11.

    (2) "Plan" means a plan of domestication, nonprofit conversion, entity conversion, merger, or share exchange.

    (b) Whenever a provision of this chapter permits any of the terms of a plan or a filed document to be dependent on facts objectively ascertainable outside the plan or filed document, the following provisions apply:

    (1) The manner in which the facts will operate upon the terms of the plan or filed document shall be set forth in the plan or filed document.

    (2) The facts may include:

    (A) Any of the following that is available in a nationally recognized news or information medium, either in print or electronically:

    (i) Statistical or market indices;

    (ii) Market prices of any security or group of securities;

    (iii) Interest rates;

    (iv) Currency exchange rates; or

    (v) Similar economic or financial data;

    (B) A determination or action by any person or body, including the corporation or any other party to a plan or filed document; or

    (C) The terms of, or actions taken under, an agreement to which the corporation is a party, or any other agreement or document.

    (3) The following provisions of a plan or filed document shall not be made dependent on facts outside the plan or filed document:

    (A) The name and address of any person required in a filed document;

    (B) The registered agent of any entity required in a filed document;

    (C) The number of authorized shares and designation of each class or series of shares;

    (D) The effective date of a filed document; or

    (E) Any required statement in a filed document of the date on which the underlying transaction was approved or the manner in which that approval was given.

    (4) If a provision of a filed document is made dependent on a fact ascertainable outside of the filed document, and that fact is not ascertainable by reference to a source described in paragraph (2)(A) of this subsection or a document that is a matter of public record, or the affected shareholders have not received notice of the fact from the corporation, the corporation shall file with the Mayor articles of amendment setting forth the fact promptly after the time when the fact referred to is first ascertainable or thereafter changes. Articles of amendment under this paragraph shall be deemed to be authorized by the authorization of the original filed document or plan to which they relate and may be filed by the corporation without further action by the board of directors or the shareholders.

    (July 2, 2011, D.C. Law 18-378, § 2, 58 DCR 1720.)

    HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES

    Legislative History of Laws

    For history of Law 18-378, see notes under § 29-101.01.

    Editor's Notes

    Former § 29-301.04 has been recodified as § 29A-301.04.