1. For a debt, obligation, or other liability of an unincorporated nonprofit association, whether arising in contract, tort, or otherwise, all of the following apply:

 a. It is solely the debt, obligation, or other liability of the association.
 b. It does not become a debt, obligation, or other liability of a member, manager, employee, or volunteer solely because the member acts as a member, the manager acts as a manager, the employee acts as an employee, or a volunteer acts as a volunteer.

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Terms Used In Iowa Code 501B.8

  • association: means an unincorporated organization consisting of two or more members joined under an agreement that is oral, in a record, or implied from conduct, for one or more common, nonprofit purposes. See Iowa Code 501B.2
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Manager: means a person that is responsible, alone or in concert with others, for the management of an unincorporated nonprofit association and includes but is not limited to persons who may be designated as directors and officers or some other designation indicating that such persons would perform the duties of a manager. See Iowa Code 501B.2
  • Member: means a person that, under the governing principles, may participate in the selection of persons authorized to manage the affairs of the unincorporated nonprofit association or in the development of the policies and activities of the association. See Iowa Code 501B.2
  • 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.
  • Person: means an individual, corporation, business trust, statutory entity trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, cooperative, association, joint venture, public corporation, government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity. See Iowa Code 501B.2
  • 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.
 2. A person‘s status as a member, manager, employee, or volunteer does not prevent or restrict law other than this chapter from imposing liability on the person or the association because of the person’s conduct.
 3. A person who is a manager, member, employee, or volunteer is not personally liable in that capacity to the unincorporated nonprofit association or any of its members for any action taken or failure to take any action in the discharge of the person’s duties except liability for any of the following:

 a. The amount of any financial benefit to which the person is not entitled.
 b. An intentional infliction of harm on the unincorporated nonprofit association or the members.
 c. An intentional violation of criminal law.
 d. Improper distributions.