(a) An agreement between two (2) or more members, if in writing and signed by the parties thereto, may provide the manner in which the parties to the agreement will exercise their voting rights. Nothing in this subsection (a) shall impair the right of the corporation to treat the members of record as entitled to exercise their voting rights.

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 48-57-301

  • board of directors: means the governing board of a corporation, whether denominated the board of directors or otherwise, except that no person or group of persons is the board of directors because of powers delegated to that person or group pursuant to §. See Tennessee Code 48-51-201
  • Bylaws: means the code or codes of rules (other than the charter) adopted pursuant to chapters 51-68 of this title for the regulation or management of the affairs of the corporation irrespective of the name or names by which such rules are designated. See Tennessee Code 48-51-201
  • Charter: includes amended and restated charters and articles of merger. See Tennessee Code 48-11-201
  • 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.
  • 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
  • Membership: means the rights and obligations a member has pursuant to a corporation's charter, bylaws and chapters 51-68 of this title. See Tennessee Code 48-51-201
  • 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.
  • Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • 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
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • written: means any information in the form of a document. See Tennessee Code 48-11-201
(b) No written agreement to which all or less than all the members have actually assented, whether embodied in the charter or bylaws or in any agreement in writing signed by all the parties thereto, which agreement relates to any phase of the affairs of the corporation, whether to its management or otherwise, shall be invalid as between the parties thereto on the ground that it is an attempt by the parties thereto to restrict the discretion of the board of directors in its management of the corporation or to treat the corporation as if it were a partnership or to arrange their relationships in a manner that would be appropriate only between parties.
(c) The duration of any agreement permitted by subsection (a) shall not exceed twenty (20) years. Failure to state a period of duration or stating a period of duration in excess of twenty (20) years shall not invalidate the agreement, but in either case the period of duration of the agreement shall be twenty (20) years. Any such agreement shall be renewable at any time before the expiration of such twenty-year period by agreement of all members bound thereby at the date of renewal.
(d) A transferee of a membership in a corporation whose members have entered into an agreement authorized by subsection (a) or (b) shall be bound by such agreement or any renewal of such agreement authorized by subsection (c) if the transferee takes the membership with notice thereof. A transferee shall be deemed to have notice of any such agreement or any such renewal if the existence thereof is noted on the face or the back of the certificate representing such membership.
(e) The effect of any agreement authorized by subsection (b) or any renewal thereof authorized by subsection (c) shall be to relieve the directors and impose upon the members assenting thereto the liability for managerial acts or omissions that is imposed on directors by law, to the extent that and so long as the discretion or powers of the board of directors, in its management of corporate affairs, are controlled by any such agreement.
(f) A voting agreement created under this section is specifically enforceable, except that a voting agreement is not enforceable to the extent that enforcement of the agreement would violate the purposes of the corporation with members.