Arizona Laws 10-202. Articles of incorporation; violation; classification
A. The articles of incorporation shall set forth:
Terms Used In Arizona Laws 10-202
- Action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Address: means a mailing address. See Arizona Laws 10-140
- Articles of incorporation: means the original or restated articles of incorporation or articles of merger and all amendments to the articles of incorporation or merger and includes amended and restated articles of incorporation and articles of amendment and merger. See Arizona Laws 10-140
- Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
- Certificate of disclosure: means the certificate of disclosure described in section 10-202. See Arizona Laws 10-140
- Class: refers to a group of memberships that have the same rights with respect to voting, dissolution, redemption and transfer. See Arizona Laws 10-3140
- Commission: means the Arizona corporation commission. See Arizona Laws 10-140
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- 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.
- Court: means the superior court of this state. See Arizona Laws 10-140
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Deliver: includes sending by mail, private courier, fax or electronic transmission. See Arizona Laws 10-140
- Delivery: means actual receipt by the person or entity to which directed and for electronic transmissions means receipt as described in section 44-7015, subsection B. See Arizona Laws 10-140
- Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
- including: means not limited to and is not a term of exclusion. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. Source: FDIC
- Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
- Interrogatories: Written questions asked by one party of an opposing party, who must answer them in writing under oath; a discovery device in a lawsuit.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Known place of business: means the known place of business required to be maintained pursuant to section 10-501. See Arizona Laws 10-140
- Membership: refers to the rights and obligations a member or members have pursuant to a corporation's articles of incorporation and bylaws and chapters 24 through 40 of this title. See Arizona Laws 10-3140
- Person: includes an individual and entity. See Arizona Laws 10-140
- Shares: means the units into which the proprietary interests in a corporation are divided. See Arizona Laws 10-140
- Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
- trustees: means individuals, designated in the articles of incorporation or bylaws or elected by the incorporators, and their successors and individuals elected or appointed by any other name or title to act as members of the board. See Arizona Laws 10-3140
1. A corporate name for the corporation that satisfies the requirements of section 10-401.
2. The number of shares the corporation is authorized to issue.
3. A brief statement of the character of business that the corporation initially intends to actually conduct in this state. This statement does not constitute a limitation on the character of business that the corporation ultimately may conduct.
4. The name and address of each person who is to serve as a director until a successor is elected and qualifies.
5. The name, street address and signature of the corporation’s statutory agent.
6. The street address of the known place of business for the corporation, if different from that of its statutory agent.
7. The name and address of each incorporator.
8. Any provision elected by the incorporators that under chapters 1 through 17 of this title or any other law of this state may be elected only by specific inclusion in the articles of incorporation.
9. The signatures of all incorporators.
B. The articles of incorporation may set forth:
1. A provision eliminating or limiting the liability of a director to the corporation or its shareholders for money damages for any action taken or any failure to take any action as a director, except liability for any of the following:
(a) The amount of a financial benefit received by a director to which the director is not entitled.
(b) An intentional infliction of harm on the corporation or the shareholders.
(c) A violation of section 10-833.
(d) An intentional violation of criminal law.
2. A provision permitting or making obligatory indemnification of a director for liability, as defined in section 10-850, to any person for any action taken, or any failure to take any action, as a director, except liability for any of the exceptions described in paragraph 1 of this subsection.
3. Any other provision, not inconsistent with law.
C. The articles of incorporation need not set forth any of the corporate powers enumerated in chapters 1 through 17 of this title.
D. The certificate of disclosure shall set forth all of the following:
1. The following information regarding all persons who at the time of its delivery are officers, directors, trustees, incorporators and persons controlling or holding over ten percent of the issued and outstanding common shares or ten percent of any other proprietary, beneficial or membership interest in the corporation:
(a) Whether any of the persons have been convicted of a felony involving a transaction in securities, consumer fraud or antitrust in any state or federal jurisdiction within the five-year period immediately preceding the execution of the certificate.
(b) Whether any of the persons have been convicted of a felony, the essential elements of which consisted of fraud, misrepresentation, theft by false pretenses or restraint of trade or monopoly in any state or federal jurisdiction within the five-year period immediately preceding the execution of the certificate.
(c) Whether any of the persons are or have been subject to an injunction, judgment, decree or permanent order of any state or federal court entered within the five-year period immediately preceding the execution of the certificate, if the injunction, judgment, decree or permanent order involved any of the following:
(i) The violation of fraud or registration provisions of the securities laws of that jurisdiction.
(ii) The violation of the consumer fraud laws of that jurisdiction.
(iii) The violation of the antitrust or restraint of trade laws of that jurisdiction.
(d) With regard to any of the persons who have been convicted of the crimes or who are the subject of the judicial action described in subdivisions (a), (b) and (c) of this paragraph, information regarding:
(i) Identification of the persons, including present full name, all prior names or aliases, including full birth name, present home address, all prior addresses for the immediately preceding five-year period and date and location of birth.
(ii) The nature and description of each conviction or judicial action, the date and location, the court and public agency involved, and the file or cause number of the case.
2. A brief statement disclosing whether any persons who at the time of its delivery are officers, directors, trustees, incorporators and persons controlling or holding over twenty percent of the issued and outstanding common shares or twenty percent of any other proprietary, beneficial or membership interest in the corporation and who have served in any such capacity or held a twenty percent interest in any other corporation on the bankruptcy or receivership of the other corporation. If so, for each corporation, the certificate shall include:
(a) The names and addresses of each corporation and the person or persons involved.
(b) The state in which each corporation:
(i) Was incorporated.
(ii) Transacted business.
(c) The dates of corporate operation.
3. The signatures of all of the incorporators.
4. The date of its execution, which shall be not more than thirty days before its delivery to the commission.
5. A declaration by each signer that he swears to its contents under penalty of law.
E. The certificate of disclosure may set forth the name and address of any other person whom the incorporators elect to be the subject of those disclosures required under subsection D, paragraph 1 of this section.
F. If within sixty days after delivering the articles of incorporation and certificate of disclosure to the commission any person becomes an officer, director, trustee or person controlling or holding over ten percent of the issued and outstanding shares or ten percent of any other proprietary, beneficial or membership interest in the corporation and the person was not the subject of the disclosures set forth in the certificate of disclosure, the incorporators or, if the organization of the corporation has been completed as provided in section 10-205, the corporation shall execute and deliver to the commission within the sixty-day period a declaration, sworn to under penalty of law, setting forth all information required by subsection D, paragraph 1 of this section regarding the person. If the incorporators or, as applicable, the corporation fail to comply with this subsection, the commission may administratively dissolve the corporation pursuant to section 10-1421.
G. If any of the persons described in subsection D, paragraph 1 of this section have been convicted of the crimes or are the subject of the judicial action described in subsection D, paragraph 1 of this section, the commission may direct detailed interrogatories to the persons requiring any additional relevant information deemed necessary by the commission. The interrogatories shall be completely answered within thirty days after mailing of the interrogatories. With respect to corporations incorporating or seeking authority to transact business, articles of incorporation or an application for authority shall not be filed until all outstanding interrogatories have been answered to the satisfaction of the commission. With respect to existing domestic and foreign corporations, if the interrogatories are not answered as provided in this subsection or the answers to the interrogatories otherwise indicate proper grounds for an administrative dissolution, the commission shall initiate an administrative dissolution in accordance with chapters 1 through 17 of this title.
H. On a quarterly updated basis, the commission shall provide to the attorney general a list of all persons who are convicted of the crimes or who are the subject of the judicial action described in subsection D, paragraph 1 of this section as indicated by the certificates of disclosure filed during the preceding three months.
I. Any person who executes or contributes information for a certificate of disclosure and who intentionally makes any untrue statement of material fact or withholds any material fact with regard to the information required in subsection D, paragraph 1 of this section is guilty of a class 6 felony.