Published: 2015-07-08
Key Benefits:
In applying and construing this uniform act, consideration shall be given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among states that enact it.
(Added by Stats. 2012, Ch. 419, Sec. 20. Effective January 1, 2013. Operative January 1, 2014, by Sec. 32 of Ch. 419.)
This title modifies, limits, and supersedes the federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (15 U.S.C. Sec. 7001 et seq.), but does not modify, limit, or supersede Section 101(c) of that act (15 U.S.C. Sec. 7001(c)), or authorize electronic delivery of any of the notices described in Section 103(b) of that act (15 U.S.C. Sec. 7003(b)).
(Added by Stats. 2012, Ch. 419, Sec. 20. Effective January 1, 2013. Operative January 1, 2014, by Sec. 32 of Ch. 419.)
This title does not affect an action commenced, proceeding brought, or right accrued or accruing before this title takes effect.
(Added by Stats. 2012, Ch. 419, Sec. 20. Effective January 1, 2013. Operative January 1, 2014, by Sec. 32 of Ch. 419.)
(a) Except as otherwise specified in this title, this title shall apply to all domestic limited liability companies existing on or after January 1, 2014, to all foreign limited liability companies registered with the Secretary of State prior to January 1, 2014, whose registrations have not been canceled as of January 1, 2014, to all foreign limited liability companies registered with the Secretary of State on or after January 1, 2014, and to all actions taken by the managers or members of a limited liability company on or after that date.
(b) Except as otherwise specified in this title, this title applies only to the acts or transactions by a limited liability company or by the members or managers of the limited liability company occurring, or contracts entered into by the limited liability company or by the members or managers of the limited liability company, on or after January 1, 2014. The prior law governs all acts or transactions by a limited liability company or by the members or managers of the limited liability company occurring, or contracts entered into by the limited liability company or by the members or managers of the limited liability company, prior to that date.
(c) Except as otherwise specified in this title, any vote or consent by the managers or members of a limited liability company prior to January 1, 2014, shall be governed by prior law. If a certificate or document is required to be filed in a public office of this state relating to a vote or consent by the managers or members of the limited liability company prior to January 1, 2014, it may be filed after that date pursuant to the filing requirements of this title, even though the vote or consent is governed by prior law.
(d) This title does not cancel or otherwise affect the status of, or create a new filing requirement with the Secretary of State or any other agency, board, commission, or department for, any domestic limited liability company in existence on December 31, 2013, or any foreign limited liability company registered to transact intrastate business in this state prior to January 1, 2014.
(e) For the purposes of this section, “prior law” means Title 2.5 (commencing with Section 17000) as it read on December 31, 2013.
(Added by Stats. 2012, Ch. 419, Sec. 20. Effective January 1, 2013. Operative January 1, 2014, by Sec. 32 of Ch. 419.)
This title, or any division, part, chapter, article, or section thereof, may at any time be amended or repealed.
(Added by Stats. 2012, Ch. 419, Sec. 20. Effective January 1, 2013. Operative January 1, 2014, by Sec. 32 of Ch. 419.)
(a) If a manager or member required by this title to execute or file any document fails, after demand, to do so within a reasonable time or refuses to do so, any other manager or member, or any person appointed by a court of competent jurisdiction, may prepare, execute, and file that document with the Secretary of State.
(b) If there is any dispute concerning the filing of a document, or the failure to file a document, any manager or member may petition the superior court to direct the execution of the document.
(c) If the court finds that it is proper for the document to be executed and that any person so designated has failed or refused to execute the document, or if the court determines that any document should be filed, it shall order a party to file the document, on a form prescribed by the Secretary of State if appropriate, as ordered by the court.
(d) In any action under this section, if the court finds the failure of the manager or member to comply with the requirement to file any document to have been without justification, the court may award an amount sufficient to reimburse the managers or members bringing the action for the reasonable expenses incurred by them, including attorney’s fees, in connection with the action or proceeding.
(e) Any member who is not a manager, or any person filing any document under this section, shall state the statutory authority after the signature on the appropriate document.
(Added by Stats. 2012, Ch. 419, Sec. 20. Effective January 1, 2013. Operative January 1, 2014, by Sec. 32 of Ch. 419.)
(a) Every limited liability company that neglects, fails, or refuses to keep or cause to be kept or maintained the documents, books, and records required by Section 17701.13 to be kept or maintained shall be subject to a penalty of twenty-five dollars ($25) for each day that the failure or refusal continues, beginning 30 days after receipt of written request by any member that the duty be performed, up to a maximum of one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500). The penalty shall be paid to the member or members jointly making the request for performance of the duty and damaged by the neglect, failure, or refusal, if suit therefor is commenced within 90 days after the written request is made; but the maximum daily penalty because of failure to comply with any number of separate requests made on any one day or for the same act shall be two hundred fifty dollars ($250).
(b) Upon the failure of a limited liability company, or a foreign limited liability company registered to transact intrastate business in this state, to file the statement required by Section 17702.09, the Secretary of State shall provide a notice of that delinquency to the limited liability company or foreign limited liability company. The notice shall also contain information concerning the application of this section, advise the limited liability company or foreign limited liability company of the penalty imposed by this subdivision for failure to timely file the required statement after notice of delinquency has been provided by the Secretary of State, and shall advise the limited liability company or foreign limited liability company of its right to request relief from the Secretary of State because of reasonable cause or unusual circumstances that justify the failure to file. If, within 60 days after providing notice of the delinquency, a statement pursuant to Section 17702.09 has not been filed by the limited liability company or foreign limited liability company, the limited liability company or foreign limited liability company shall be subject to a penalty of two hundred fifty dollars ($250).
(Added by Stats. 2012, Ch. 419, Sec. 20. Effective January 1, 2013. Operative January 1, 2014, by Sec. 32 of Ch. 419.)
Any penalty prescribed by Section 17713.07 shall be in addition to any remedy by injunction or action for damages or by writ of mandate for the nonperformance of acts and duties enjoined by law upon the limited liability company or its managers, including, without limitation, the remedies provided in subdivisions (f) and (g) of Section 17704.10. The court in which an action for any penalty is brought may reduce, remit, or suspend the penalty on any terms and conditions as it may deem reasonable when it is made to appear that the neglect, failure, or refusal was inadvertent or excusable.
(Added by Stats. 2012, Ch. 419, Sec. 20. Effective January 1, 2013. Operative January 1, 2014, by Sec. 32 of Ch. 419.)
(a) Upon the failure of a limited liability company to file the statement required by Section 17702.09, the Secretary of State shall provide a notice of the delinquency to the limited liability company. The notice shall also contain information concerning the application of this section, advise the limited liability company of the penalty imposed by Section 19141 of the Revenue and Taxation Code for failure to timely file the required statement after notice of delinquency has been mailed by the Secretary of State, and shall advise the limited liability company of its right to request relief from the Secretary of State because of reasonable cause or unusual circumstances that justify such failure to file. If, within 60 days after providing notice of the delinquency, a statement pursuant to Section 17702.09 has not been filed by the limited liability company, the Secretary of State shall certify the name of such limited liability company to the Franchise Tax Board.
(b) Upon certification pursuant to subdivision (a), the Franchise Tax Board shall assess against the limited liability company the penalty provided in Section 19141 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
(c) The penalty provided by Section 19141 of the Revenue and Taxation Code shall not apply to a limited liability company that on or prior to the date of certification pursuant to subdivision (a) has been canceled, has been merged into another limited liability company, other business entity, foreign other business entity, or foreign limited liability company, or has converted into another foreign business entity, foreign other business entity, or foreign limited liability company.
(d) The penalty herein provided shall not apply and the Secretary of State need not provide notice of the delinquency to a limited liability company the powers, rights, and privileges of which have been suspended by the Franchise Tax Board pursuant to Section 23301, 23301.5, or 23775 of the Revenue and Taxation Code on or prior to, and remain suspended on, the last day of the filing period pursuant to Section 17702.09. The Secretary of State need not provide notice of the filing requirement pursuant to Section 17702.09 to a limited liability company the powers, rights, and privileges of which have been so suspended by the Franchise Tax Board on or prior to, and remain suspended on, the day the Secretary of State prepares the notice for sending.
(e) If, after certification pursuant to subdivision (a) the Secretary of State finds (1) the required statement was filed or the required fee was paid before the expiration of the 60-day period after providing notice of the delinquency, or (2) the failure to provide notice of delinquency was due to an error of the Secretary of State, the Secretary of State shall promptly decertify the name of the limited liability company to the Franchise Tax Board. The Franchise Tax Board shall then promptly abate any penalty assessed against the limited liability company pursuant to Section 19141 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
(f) If the Secretary of State determines that the failure of a limited liability company to file the statement required by Section 17702.09 is excusable because of reasonable cause or unusual circumstances that justify such failure, the Secretary of State may waive the penalty imposed by this section and by Section 19141 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, in which case the Secretary of State shall not certify the name of the limited liability company to the Franchise Tax Board, or if already certified, the Secretary of State shall promptly decertify the name of the limited liability company.
(Added by Stats. 2012, Ch. 419, Sec. 20. Effective January 1, 2013. Operative January 1, 2014, by Sec. 32 of Ch. 419.)
(a) A limited liability company that (1) fails to file a statement pursuant to Section 17702.09 for an applicable filing period, (2) has not filed a statement pursuant to Section 17702.09 during the preceding 24 months, and (3) was certified for penalty pursuant to Section 17713.09 for the same filing period, shall be subject to suspension pursuant to this section rather than to penalty pursuant to Section 17713.09.
(b) When subdivision (a) is applicable, the Secretary of State shall notify the limited liability company that its powers, rights, and privileges will be suspended after 60 days if it fails to file a statement pursuant to Section 17702.09.
(c) After the expiration of the 60-day period without any statement filed pursuant to Section 17702.09, the Secretary of State shall notify the Franchise Tax Board of the suspension, and shall provide a notice of the suspension to the limited liability company and thereupon, except for the purpose of amending the articles of organization to set forth a new name, the powers, rights, and privileges of the limited liability company are suspended.
(d) A statement pursuant to Section 17702.09 may be filed notwithstanding suspension of the powers, rights, and privileges pursuant to this section or Section 23301 or 23301.5 of the Revenue and Taxation Code. Upon the filing of a statement pursuant to Section 17702.09 by a limited liability company that has suffered suspension pursuant to this section, the Secretary of State shall certify that fact to the Franchise Tax Board and the limited liability company may thereupon be relieved from suspension unless the limited liability company is held in suspension by the Franchise Tax Board by reason of Section 23301 or 23301.5 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
(Added by Stats. 2012, Ch. 419, Sec. 20. Effective January 1, 2013. Operative January 1, 2014, by Sec. 32 of Ch. 419.)
(a) Sections 17713.09 and 17713.10 apply to foreign limited liability companies with respect to the statements required to be filed by Section 17702.09. For this purpose, the suspension of the powers, rights, and privileges of a domestic limited liability company shall mean the forfeiture of the exercise of the powers, rights, and privileges of a foreign limited liability company in this state.
(b) The forfeiture of the exercise of the powers, rights, and privileges of a foreign limited liability company in this state as used in subdivision (a) does not prohibit the transaction of business in this state by a foreign limited liability company if the business transacted subsequent to the forfeiture would not, considered as an entirety, require the foreign limited liability company to obtain a certificate of registration pursuant to Section 17708.02.
(Added by Stats. 2012, Ch. 419, Sec. 20. Effective January 1, 2013. Operative January 1, 2014, by Sec. 32 of Ch. 419.)
(a) A limited liability company is liable for a civil penalty in an amount not exceeding one million dollars ($1,000,000) if the limited liability company does both of the following:
(1) Has actual knowledge that a member, officer, manager, or agent of the limited liability company does any of the following:
(A) Makes, publishes, or posts, or has made, published, or posted, either generally or privately to the shareholders or other persons, either of the following:
(i) An oral, written, or electronically transmitted report, exhibit, notice, or statement of its affairs or pecuniary condition that contains a material statement or omission that is false and intended to give membership shares in the limited liability company a materially greater or a materially less apparent market value than they really possess.
(ii) An oral, written, or electronically transmitted report, prospectus, account, or statement of operations, values, business, profits, or expenditures that includes a material false statement or omission intended to give membership shares in the limited liability company a materially greater or a materially less apparent market value than they really possess.
(B) Refuses or has refused to make any book entry or post any notice required by law in the manner required by law.
(C) Misstates or conceals or has misstated or concealed from a regulatory body a material fact in order to deceive a regulatory body to avoid a statutory or regulatory duty, or to avoid a statutory or regulatory limit or prohibition.
(2) Within 30 days after actual knowledge is acquired of the actions described in paragraph (1), the limited liability company knowingly fails to do both of the following:
(A) Notify the Attorney General or appropriate government agency in writing, unless the limited liability company has actual knowledge that the Attorney General or appropriate government agency has been notified.
(B) Notify its members and investors in writing, unless the limited liability company has actual knowledge that the members and investors have been notified.
(b) The requirement for notification under this section is not applicable if the action taken or about to be taken by the limited liability company, or by a member, officer, manager, or agent of the limited liability company under paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), is abated within the time prescribed for reporting, unless the appropriate government agency requires disclosure by regulation.
(c) If the action reported to the Attorney General pursuant to this section implicates the government authority of an agency other than the Attorney General, the Attorney General shall promptly forward the written notice to that agency.
(d) If the Attorney General was not notified pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), but the limited liability company reasonably and in good faith believed that it had complied with the notification requirements of this section by notifying a government agency listed in paragraph (5) of subdivision (e), no penalties shall apply.
(e) For purposes of this section:
(1) “Manager” means a person defined by subdivision (m) of Section 17701.01 having both of the following:
(A) Management authority over the limited liability company.
(B) Significant responsibility for an aspect of the limited liability company that includes actual authority for the financial operations or financial transactions of the limited liability company.
(2) “Agent” means a person or entity authorized by the limited liability company to make representations to the public about the limited liability company’s financial condition and who is acting within the scope of the agency when the representations are made.
(3) “Member” means a person as defined by subdivision (o) of Section 17701.01 that is a member of the limited liability company at the time the disclosure is required pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a).
(4) “Notify its members” means to give sufficient description of an action taken or about to be taken that would constitute acts or omissions as described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a). A notice or report filed by a limited liability company with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission that relates to the facts and circumstances giving rise to an obligation under paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) shall satisfy all notice requirements arising under paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) but shall not be the exclusive means of satisfying the notice requirements, provided that the Attorney General or appropriate agency is informed in writing that the filing has been made together with a copy of the filing or an electronic link where it is available online without charge.
(5) “Appropriate government agency” means an agency on the following list that has regulatory authority with respect to the financial operations of a limited liability company:
(A) Department of Corporations.
(B) Department of Insurance.
(C) Department of Financial Institutions.
(D) Department of Managed Health Care.
(E) United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
(6) “Actual knowledge of the limited liability company” means the knowledge a member, officer, or manager of a limited liability company actually possesses or does not consciously avoid possessing, based on an evaluation of information provided pursuant to the limited liability company’s disclosure controls and procedures.
(7) “Refuse to make a book entry” means the intentional decision not to record an accounting transaction when all of the following conditions are satisfied:
(A) The independent auditors required recordation of an accounting transaction during the course of an audit.
(B) The audit committee of the limited liability company has not approved the independent auditor’s recommendation.
(C) The decision is made for the primary purpose of rendering the financial statements materially false or misleading.
(8) “Refuse to post any notice required by law” means an intentional decision not to post a notice required by law when all of the following conditions exist:
(A) The decision not to post the notice has not been approved by the limited liability company’s audit committee.
(B) The decision is intended to give the membership shares in the limited liability company a materially greater or a materially less apparent market value than they really possess.
(9) “Misstate or conceal material facts from a regulatory body” means an intentional decision not to disclose material facts when all of the following conditions exist:
(A) The decision not to disclose material facts has not been approved by the limited liability company’s audit committee.
(B) The decision is intended to give the membership shares in the limited liability company a materially greater or a materially less apparent market value than they really possess.
(10) “Material false statement or omission” means an untrue statement of material fact or an omission to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements made under the circumstances under which they were made not misleading.
(11) “Officer” means a person appointed pursuant to Section 17703.02, except an officer of a specified subsidiary limited liability company who is not also an officer of the parent limited liability company.
(f) This section only applies to limited liability companies that are issuers, as defined in Section 2 of the federal Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (15 U.S.C. Sec. 7201 et seq.).
(g) An action to enforce this section may only be brought by the Attorney General or a district attorney or city attorney in the name of the people of the State of California.
(Added by Stats. 2012, Ch. 419, Sec. 20. Effective January 1, 2013. Operative January 1, 2014, by Sec. 32 of Ch. 419.)
This title shall become operative on January 1, 2014.
(Added by Stats. 2012, Ch. 419, Sec. 20. Effective January 1, 2013. Operative January 1, 2014, by Sec. 32 of Ch. 419.)
