Virginia Code 8.8A-110: (Effective until July 1, 2025) Applicability; choice of law
(a) The local law of the issuer’s jurisdiction, as specified in subsection (d), governs:
Terms Used In Virginia Code 8.8A-110
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
- 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.
- Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
- State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
- Uniform Commercial Code: A set of statutes enacted by the various states to provide consistency among the states' commercial laws. It includes negotiable instruments, sales, stock transfers, trust and warehouse receipts, and bills of lading. Source: OCC
(1) the validity of a security;
(2) the rights and duties of the issuer with respect to registration of transfer;
(3) the effectiveness of registration of transfer by the issuer;
(4) whether the issuer owes any duties to an adverse claimant to a security; and
(5) whether an adverse claim can be asserted against a person to whom transfer of a certificated or uncertificated security is registered or a person who obtains control of an uncertificated security.
(b) The local law of the securities intermediary’s jurisdiction, as specified in subsection (e), governs:
(1) acquisition of a security entitlement from the securities intermediary;
(2) the rights and duties of the securities intermediary and entitlement holder arising out of a security entitlement;
(3) whether the securities intermediary owes any duties to an adverse claimant to a security entitlement; and
(4) whether an adverse claim can be asserted against a person who acquires a security entitlement from the securities intermediary or a person who purchases a security entitlement or interest therein from an entitlement holder.
(c) The local law of the jurisdiction in which a security certificate is located at the time of delivery governs whether an adverse claim can be asserted against a person to whom the security certificate is delivered.
(d) “Issuer’s jurisdiction” means the jurisdiction under which the issuer of the security is organized or, if permitted by the law of that jurisdiction, the law of another jurisdiction specified by the issuer. An issuer organized under the law of this state may specify the law of another jurisdiction as the law governing the matters specified in subsection (a) (2) through (5).
(e) The following rules determine a “securities intermediary’s jurisdiction” for purposes of this section:
(1) If an agreement between the securities intermediary and its entitlement holder governing the securities account expressly provides that a particular jurisdiction is the securities intermediary’s jurisdiction for purposes of this part, this title or the Uniform Commercial Code, that jurisdiction is the securities intermediary’s jurisdiction.
(2) If paragraph (1) does not apply and an agreement between the securities intermediary and its entitlement holder governing the securities account expressly provides that the agreement is governed by the law of a particular jurisdiction, that jurisdiction is the securities intermediary’s jurisdiction.
(3) If neither paragraph (1) nor paragraph (2) applies and an agreement between the securities intermediary and its entitlement holder governing the securities account expressly provides that the securities account is maintained at an office in a particular jurisdiction, that jurisdiction is the securities intermediary’s jurisdiction.
(4) If none of the preceding paragraphs applies, the securities intermediary’s jurisdiction is the jurisdiction in which the office identified in an account statement as the office serving the entitlement holder’s account is located.
(5) If none of the preceding paragraphs applies the securities intermediary’s jurisdiction is the jurisdiction in which the chief executive office of the securities intermediary is located.
(f) A securities intermediary’s jurisdiction is not determined by the physical location of certificates representing financial assets, or by the jurisdiction in which is organized the issuer of the financial asset with respect to which an entitlement holder has a security entitlement, or by the location of facilities for data processing or other record keeping concerning the account.
(a) The local law of the issuer’s jurisdiction, as specified in subsection (d), governs:
(1) the validity of a security;
(2) the rights and duties of the issuer with respect to registration of transfer;
(3) the effectiveness of registration of transfer by the issuer;
(4) whether the issuer owes any duties to an adverse claimant to a security; and
(5) whether an adverse claim can be asserted against a person to whom transfer of a certificated or uncertificated security is registered or a person who obtains control of an uncertificated security.
(b) The local law of the securities intermediary’s jurisdiction, as specified in subsection (e), governs:
(1) acquisition of a security entitlement from the securities intermediary;
(2) the rights and duties of the securities intermediary and entitlement holder arising out of a security entitlement;
(3) whether the securities intermediary owes any duties to an adverse claimant to a security entitlement; and
(4) whether an adverse claim can be asserted against a person who acquires a security entitlement from the securities intermediary or a person who purchases a security entitlement or interest therein from an entitlement holder.
(c) The local law of the jurisdiction in which a security certificate is located at the time of delivery governs whether an adverse claim can be asserted against a person to whom the security certificate is delivered.
(d) “Issuer’s jurisdiction” means the jurisdiction under which the issuer of the security is organized or, if permitted by the law of that jurisdiction, the law of another jurisdiction specified by the issuer. An issuer organized under the law of this state may specify the law of another jurisdiction as the law governing the matters specified in subsection (a) (2) through (5).
(e) The following rules determine a “securities intermediary’s jurisdiction” for purposes of this section:
(1) If an agreement between the securities intermediary and its entitlement holder governing the securities account expressly provides that a particular jurisdiction is the securities intermediary’s jurisdiction for purposes of this part, this title or the Uniform Commercial Code, that jurisdiction is the securities intermediary’s jurisdiction.
(2) If paragraph (1) does not apply and an agreement between the securities intermediary and its entitlement holder governing the securities account expressly provides that the agreement is governed by the law of a particular jurisdiction, that jurisdiction is the securities intermediary’s jurisdiction.
(3) If neither paragraph (1) nor paragraph (2) applies and an agreement between the securities intermediary and its entitlement holder governing the securities account expressly provides that the securities account is maintained at an office in a particular jurisdiction, that jurisdiction is the securities intermediary’s jurisdiction.
(4) If none of the preceding paragraphs applies, the securities intermediary’s jurisdiction is the jurisdiction in which the office identified in an account statement as the office serving the entitlement holder’s account is located.
(5) If none of the preceding paragraphs applies the securities intermediary’s jurisdiction is the jurisdiction in which the chief executive office of the securities intermediary is located.
(f) A securities intermediary’s jurisdiction is not determined by the physical location of certificates representing financial assets, or by the jurisdiction in which is organized the issuer of the financial asset with respect to which an entitlement holder has a security entitlement, or by the location of facilities for data processing or other record keeping concerning the account.
(g) The local law of the issuer’s jurisdiction or the securities intermediary’s jurisdiction governs a matter or transaction specified in subsection (a) or (b) even if the matter or transaction does not bear any relation to the jurisdiction.