Arizona Laws 20-481.29. Injunctions; prohibitions against voting securities; sequestration of voting securities
A. If it appears to the director that an insurer or a director, officer, employee or agent has committed or is about to commit a violation of this article or of a rule adopted or order issued by the director, the director may apply to the superior court in the county in which the principal office of the insurer is located for an injunction and for other equitable relief as the case and the interest of the insurer’s policyholders, creditors and shareholders or the public may require. If the insurer has no office in this state, the director may apply to the superior court in Maricopa county.
Terms Used In Arizona Laws 20-481.29
- Action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
- Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
- Insurer: means every person engaged in the business of making contracts of insurance except:
(a) Agencies, authorities or instrumentalities of the United States, its possessions and territories, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia or a state or political subdivision of a state. See Arizona Laws 20-481
- Person: means an individual, a corporation, a partnership, an association, a joint stock company, a trust, an unincorporated organization and any similar entity or any combination of the foregoing acting in concert but does not include any joint venture partnership exclusively engaged in owning, managing, leasing or developing real or tangible personal property. See Arizona Laws 20-481
- Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
- Sequester: To separate. Sometimes juries are sequestered from outside influences during their deliberations.
B. No security that is the subject of any agreement or arrangement regarding acquisition or that is acquired or to be acquired, in contravention of the provisions of this article or of any rule adopted or order issued by the director may be voted at any shareholder’s meeting or may be counted for quorum purposes. Any action of shareholders requiring the affirmative vote of a percentage of shares may be taken as though these securities were not issued and outstanding. No action taken at any meeting may be invalidated by the voting of these securities unless the action would materially affect control of the insurer or unless the courts of this state have so ordered. If an insurer or the director has reason to believe that any security of the insurer has been or is about to be acquired in contravention of the provisions of this article or of any rule adopted or order issued by the director, the insurer or the director may apply to the superior court in the county in which the insurer has its principal place of business to enjoin any offer, request, invitation, agreement or acquisition made in violation of this article or any rule adopted or order issued by the director to enjoin the voting of any security so acquired, to void any vote of the security already cast at any meeting of shareholders and for other equitable relief as the nature of the case and the interest of the insurer’s policyholders, creditors and shareholders or the public requires.
C. In any case in which a person has acquired or is proposing to acquire any voting securities in violation of this article or any rule adopted or order issued by the director, the superior court in Maricopa county or the superior court in the county in which the insurer has its principal place of business, on notice as the court deems appropriate and on the application of the insurer or the director, may seize or sequester voting securities of the insurer owned directly or indirectly by that person and issue an order as is appropriate to effectuate the provisions of this article.
D. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, for the purposes of this section the situs of the ownership of the securities of domestic insurers is deemed to be in this state.