1.    Except as provided in subsection 2, a limited liability company has the capacity to sue and be sued in its own name and the power to do all things necessary or convenient to carry on its activities. With respect to loans, guarantees, and suretyship:

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Terms Used In North Dakota Code 10-32.1-08

  • Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • Organization: includes a foreign or domestic association, business trust, corporation, enterprise, estate, joint venture, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, limited partnership, partnership, trust, or any legal or commercial entity. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • Person: means an individual, organization, government, political subdivision, or government agency or instrumentality. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49

a.    Without in any way limiting the generality of the power of a limited liability company to do all things necessary or convenient to carry on its activities, a limited liability company may lend money to, guarantee an obligation of, become a surety for, or otherwise financially assist a person, if the transaction, or a class of transactions to which the transaction belongs, is approved pursuant to this chapter and the operating agreement of the limited liability company, and:

(1) Is in the usual and regular course of business of the limited liability company; (2) Is with, or for the benefit of, a related organization, an organization in which the limited liability company has a financial interest, an organization with which the limited liability company has a business relationship, or an organization to which the limited liability company has the power to make donations, any of which relationships constitute consideration sufficient to make the loan, guarantee, suretyship, or other financial assistance so approved enforceable against the limited liability company; (3) Is with, or for the benefit of, a member who provides services to the limited liability company, or a manager or other employee of the limited liability company or a subsidiary, including a member, manager, or employee who is a governor of the limited liability company or a subsidiary, and may reasonably be expected, in the judgment of the board of governors, to benefit the limited liability company; or

(4) Whether or not any separate consideration has been paid or promised to the limited liability company, has been approved by:

(a)    The owners of two-thirds of the voting power of persons other than the interested person or persons; or

(b)    The unanimous vote of all members, whether or not ordinarily entitled to vote.

b.    Any loan, guaranty, surety contract, or other financial assistance described in subdivision a may be with or without interest and may be unsecured or may be secured in any manner including, without limitation, a grant of a security interest in the transferable interest of a member in the limited liability company.

c.    This subsection does not grant any authority to act as a bank or to carry on the business of banking.

2.    Until a limited liability company has or has had at least one member, the company lacks the capacity to do any act or carry on any activity except:

a.    Delivering to the secretary of state for filing:

(1) A statement of change under section 10-32.1-17; (2) An amendment to the certificate under section 10-32.1-21; (3) A statement of correction under section 10-32.1-88; (4) An annual report under section 10-32.1-89; (5) A notice of termination under section 10-32.1-51; and

(6) Articles of dissolution and termination under section 10-32.1-51; b.    Admitting a member under section 10-32.1-27; and c.    Dissolving under section 10-32.1-50.

    3.    A limited liability company that has or has had at least one member may ratify an act or activity that occurred when the company lacked capacity under subsection 2.

4.    A limited liability company only may seek to obtain a license or permit required by the state after the articles of organization are filed with the secretary of state and the limited liability company has one or more members.