Michigan Laws 450.5007 – Foreign limited liability company; transacting business without certificate of authority
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(1) A foreign limited liability company transacting business in this state without a certificate of authority shall not maintain an action, suit, or proceeding in a court of this state until it has obtained a certificate of authority. This prohibition applies to both of the following in addition to the foreign limited liability company:
(a) A successor in interest of the foreign limited liability company, except a receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, or other representative of creditors of the foreign company.
Terms Used In Michigan Laws 450.5007
- Administrator: means the director of the department or his or her designated representative. See Michigan Laws 450.4102
- 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.
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. Source:
- Foreign limited liability company: means a limited liability company formed under laws other than the laws of this state. See Michigan Laws 450.4102
- Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
- interest: means a member's rights in the limited liability company, including, but not limited to, any right to receive distributions of the limited liability company's assets and any right to vote or participate in management. See Michigan Laws 450.4102
- managers: means a person or persons designated to manage the limited liability company pursuant to a provision in the articles of organization stating that the business is to be managed by or under the authority of managers. See Michigan Laws 450.4102
- Member: means a person that has been admitted to a limited liability company as provided in section 501, or, in the case of a foreign limited liability company, a person that is a member of the foreign limited liability company in accordance with the laws under which the foreign limited liability company is organized. See Michigan Laws 450.4102
- month: means a calendar month; the word "year" a calendar year; and the word "year" alone shall be equivalent to the words "year of our Lord". See Michigan Laws 8.3j
- Person: means an individual, partnership, limited liability company, trust, custodian, estate, association, corporation, nonprofit corporation, governmental entity, or any other legal entity. See Michigan Laws 450.4102
- Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
- state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories belonging to the United States; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the district and territories. See Michigan Laws 8.3o
- Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
(b) An assignee of the foreign limited liability company, except an assignee for value who accepts an assignment without knowledge that the foreign company should have but has not obtained a certificate of authority in this state.
(2) An action commenced by a foreign limited liability company having no certificate of authority shall not be dismissed if a certificate of authority is obtained before the order of dismissal. Any order of dismissal shall be without prejudice to the recommencement of the action, suit, or proceeding by the foreign limited liability company after it obtains a certificate of authority.
(3) The failure of a foreign limited liability company to obtain a certificate of authority to transact business in this state does not impair the validity of any contract or act of the foreign limited liability company or prevent the foreign limited liability company from defending any action, suit, or proceeding in a court of this state.
(4) A foreign limited liability company, by transacting business in this state without a certificate of authority, appoints the administrator as its agent for service of process with respect to a cause of action arising out of the transaction of business in this state.
(5) A foreign limited liability company that transacts business in this state without a certificate of authority is liable to the state for the years or parts of years during which it transacted business in this state without a certificate in an amount equal to all fees that would have been imposed under this act upon the foreign limited liability company had it obtained the certificate, filed all documents required by this act, and paid all penalties imposed by this act. The attorney general may bring proceedings to recover all amounts due the state under this section.
(6) A foreign limited liability company that transacts business in this state without a certificate of authority is subject to a civil penalty, payable to the state, of not less than $100.00 nor more than $1,000.00 for each calendar month, not more than 5 years prior to the imposition of the penalty, in which it has transacted business without the certificate. The penalty shall not exceed $10,000.00. Each manager, member, or authorized person who authorizes, directs, or participates in the transaction of business in this state on behalf of a foreign limited liability company that does not have a certificate is subject to a civil penalty, payable to the state, not to exceed $10,000.00.
(7) The civil penalties set forth in subsection (6) may be recovered in an action brought by the attorney general. Upon a finding by the court that a foreign limited liability company or any of its members, managers, or authorized persons have transacted business in this state in violation of this act, the court shall issue, in addition to the imposition of a civil penalty, an injunction restraining the further transaction of business by the foreign limited liability company and the further exercise of any rights and privileges in this state. The foreign limited liability company shall be enjoined from transacting business in this state until all civil penalties plus any interest and court costs that the court may assess have been paid and until the foreign limited liability company has obtained a certificate of authority to transact business.
(8) A member of a foreign limited liability company is not liable for the debts and obligations of the limited liability company solely by reason of the company’s having transacted business in this state without a valid certificate of authority.