(a) If the form and filing of a document delivered to the office of the secretary of state for filing satisfies the requirements of this section, and of all other applicable sections or rules that add to these requirements, then the secretary of state must file it.
Terms Used In Tennessee Code 43-38-1105
Cooperative: means an association organized under this title conducting business on a cooperative plan as provided under this chapter. See Tennessee Code 43-38-103
Representative: when applied to those who represent a decedent, includes executors and administrators, unless the context implies heirs and distributees. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
Secretary of state: means the person who holds the office of secretary of state of Tennessee. See Tennessee Code 43-38-103
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: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) The secretary of state files a document by stamping or otherwise endorsing “Filed”, together with the secretary of state’s name and official title and the date and time of receipt, on the document. After filing a document, except for filings pursuant to §§ 43-38-109 and 43-38-120, the secretary of state shall deliver the document, with the filing fee receipt attached, or acknowledgment of receipt if no fee is required, to the cooperative or its representative in due course. A cooperative or its representative may present to the office of the secretary of state an exact or conformed copy of the document presented for filing, together with the document; and, in that event, the secretary of state shall stamp or otherwise endorse the exact or conformed copy “Filed”, together with the secretary of state’s name and official title and the date and time of receipt, and immediately return the exact or conformed copy to the party filing the original of the document.(c) If the secretary of state refuses to file a document, then the secretary of state shall return it to the cooperative or its representative immediately after the document was received for filing, together with a brief, written explanation of the reason for the refusal.(d) The secretary of state’s duty to file documents under this section is ministerial. The secretary of state’s filing or refusing to file a document does not:
(1) Affect the validity or invalidity of the document in whole or in part;(2) Relate to the correctness or incorrectness of information contained in the document;(3) Create a presumption that the document is valid or invalid or that information contained in the document is correct or incorrect; or(4) Establish that a document purporting to be an exact or conformed copy is in fact an exact or conformed copy.(e) Any cooperative document that meets the requirements of this chapter and all applicable rules for filing and recording must be received, filed, and recorded by the appropriate office, upon payment of the appropriate fees and taxes, if any, notwithstanding any contrary requirements found in any other laws of this state.
