West Virginia Code 31B-1-105 – Name
(a) The name of a limited liability company must contain "limited liability company" or "limited company" or the abbreviation "L.L.C.", "LLC", "L.C." or "LC". "Limited" may be abbreviated as "Ltd." and "company" may be abbreviated as "Co.".
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 31B-1-105
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- 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.
- Judgment: includes decrees and orders for the payment of money, or the conveyance or delivery of land or personal property, or some interest therein, or any undertaking, bond or recognizance which has the legal effect of a judgment. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- 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.
- Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
(b) Except as authorized by subsections (c) and (d) of this section, the name of a limited liability company must be distinguishable upon the records of the Secretary of State from:
(1) The name of any corporation, limited partnership, limited liability partnership or limited liability company incorporated, organized or authorized to transact business in this state;
(2) A name reserved or registered under sections 1-106 or 1-107 of this article or under sections twelve or thirteen of article one, chapter thirty-one of this code.
(3) A fictitious name approved under section 10-1005 for a foreign company authorized to transact business in this state because its real name is unavailable.
(c) A limited liability company may apply to the Secretary of State for authorization to use a name that is not distinguishable upon the records of the Secretary of State from one or more of the names described in subsection (b) of this section. The Secretary of State shall authorize use of the name applied for if:
(1) The present user, registrant or owner of a reserved name consents to the use in a record and submits an undertaking in form satisfactory to the Secretary of State to change the name to a name that is distinguishable upon the records of the Secretary of State from the name applied for; or
(2) The applicant delivers to the Secretary of State a certified copy of the final judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction establishing the applicant's right to use the name applied for in this state.
(d) A limited liability company may use the name, including a fictitious name, of another domestic or foreign company which is used in this state if the other company is organized or authorized to transact business in this state and the company proposing to use the name has:
(1) Merged with the other company;
(2) Been formed by reorganization with the other company; or
(3) Acquired substantially all of the assets, including the name, of the other company.