(a)Limited liability rule.

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 48-249-114

  • 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.
  • Business: means every trade, occupation, profession, investment activity, and other lawful purpose for gain or the preservation of assets, whether or not carried on for profit. See Tennessee Code 48-249-102
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Director: means an individual who is vested with authority as a director under §. See Tennessee Code 48-249-102
  • Directors: means natural persons, designated in the charter or bylaws or elected or appointed by the incorporators, and their successors and natural persons elected or appointed to act as members of the board, irrespective of the names or titles by which such persons are described. See Tennessee Code 48-51-201
  • Dissolution: means that the LLC has incurred an event under §. See Tennessee Code 48-202-101
  • domestic: means a limited liability company formed under this chapter, or a limited liability company formed under the Tennessee Limited Liability Company Act, compiled in chapters 201-248 of this title, that has elected to be governed by this chapter, or, where expressly indicated, a limited liability company formed under and governed by the Tennessee Limited Liability Company Act. See Tennessee Code 48-249-102
  • Employee: includes an officer but not a director. See Tennessee Code 48-11-201
  • Entity: means , whether foreign or domestic and whether for profit or not-for-profit, limited liability companies, corporations, unincorporated associations, real estate investment trusts, statutory or business trusts or associations, estates, general partnerships, limited partnerships, registered or unregistered limited liability partnerships, limited liability limited partnerships or similar organizations, trusts, joint ventures, two (2) or more persons having a joint or common economic interest, and local, municipal, state, United States and foreign governments. See Tennessee Code 48-249-102
  • Financial rights: means a member's or holder's rights to:
    (A) Share in profits and losses, as provided in §. See Tennessee Code 48-249-102
  • foreign: means a limited liability company that is formed under the laws of a jurisdiction other than this state. See Tennessee Code 48-249-102
  • holder: means a person, other than a member, owning any financial rights in an LLC. See Tennessee Code 48-249-102
  • Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
  • LLC: means a limited liability company, organized under chapters 201-248 of this title. See Tennessee Code 48-202-101
  • LLC documents: means either, or both:
    (A) An LLC's articles. See Tennessee Code 48-249-102
  • Manager: means a person who is vested with authority as a manager under §. See Tennessee Code 48-249-102
  • Member: means a person that has been admitted to an LLC as a member, as provided in §. See Tennessee Code 48-249-102
  • 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.
  • Officer: means an individual, who is vested with authority as an officer under §. See Tennessee Code 48-249-102
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • Person: means an individual or an entity. See Tennessee Code 48-249-102
  • Proceeding: means any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, and whether formal or informal. See Tennessee Code 48-249-102
  • signed: includes a mark, the name being written near the mark and witnessed, or any other symbol or methodology executed or adopted by a party with intention to authenticate a writing or record, regardless of being witnessed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Termination: means the end of an LLC's existence as a legal entity and occurs when the articles of termination are filed with the secretary of state under §. See Tennessee Code 48-202-101
  • Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
(1) Except as provided in subsections (d) and (f):

(A) The debts, obligations and liabilities of an LLC, whether arising in contract, tort or otherwise, are solely the debts, obligations and liabilities of the LLC;
(B) A member, holder, director, manager, officer, employee or other agent of an LLC does not have any personal obligation, and is not otherwise personally liable, for the acts, debts, liabilities or obligations of the LLC; and
(C) A member, holder, director, manager, officer, employee or other agent of an LLC does not have any personal obligation, and is not otherwise personally liable, for the acts or omissions of any other member, holder, manager, officer, director, employee or other agent of the LLC.
(2) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a)(1)(B) and (C), a member, holder of financial rights, director, manager, officer, employee or other agent may be personally liable by reason of such person‘s own acts or omissions.
(b)Limited liability after dissolution. The limitation on liability described in subsection (a) continues in full force, regardless of any dissolution, winding up or termination of an LLC.
(c) Member not a proper party to proceeding. A member, holder, director, manager, officer, employee or other agent of an LLC is not a proper party to a proceeding by or against an LLC, except:

(1) Where the object of the proceeding is to enforce such person’s right against, or liability to, the LLC;
(2) In a derivative proceeding brought under this chapter or the LLC documents; or
(3) Where the proceeding asserts personal liability of such person, as described in subsection (a).
(d)Sales tax liability. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter to the contrary, each member, manager, director, officer, employee, agent or other person required to collect, truthfully account for and pay over to the department of revenue any tax collected from the customers of a domestic or foreign LLC shall be personally liable for those taxes, in the same manner as responsible persons of a corporation under § 67-1-1443.
(e)Failure to follow formalities not to generate personal liability. The failure of a domestic or foreign LLC to observe the usual entity formalities or requirements relating to the exercise of its powers or management of its business is not a ground for imposing personal liability on the members, holders, managers, directors, officers, employees or other agents of the domestic or foreign LLC.
(f)Voluntary unlimited liability.

(1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this section, the articles may provide that one (1) or more specifically identified members, as named in the articles, will be personally liable for all of the debts, obligations and liabilities of the LLC. If that provision is made, each such specifically identified member shall be liable to the same extent as a general partner in a general partnership; provided, that:

(A) In order to be effective, each member so identified shall sign the articles or an amendment to the articles containing this provision; and
(B) Each member identified in the articles shall continue to be personally liable for debts, obligations and liabilities of the LLC until the articles are amended to delete the member’s name, but, except as provided in subdivision (f)(2), the amendment shall be signed by a person authorized to bind the LLC under § 48-249-402, and by any remaining members who continue to be identified in the articles as being personally liable for the debts, obligations and liabilities of the LLC.
(2) A member who is identified in the articles as being personally liable has the power, but not necessarily the right, to file an amendment to the articles, stating that such member will not be liable for any future debts, obligations and liabilities of the LLC, except with respect to persons that have reasonably relied upon the articles.
(3)

(A) An amendment to the articles filed under subdivisions (f)(1) and (2) shall be effective immediately, except that such an amendment is not effective against persons reasonably relying upon the articles naming the member as individually liable for the debts, obligations and liabilities of the LLC, until the passage of ninety (90) days from the filing of the amendment to the articles.
(B) Notwithstanding subdivision (f)(3)(A), such member shall continue to be liable for all debts and obligations of the LLC incurred by the LLC during the time that the member was identified in the articles as being personally liable.
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