West Virginia Code 33-27-8 – Injunctions; prohibitions against voting securities; sequestration of voting securities
(a) Injunctions. — Whenever it appears to the commissioner that any person or any director, officer, employee or agent thereof has committed or is about to commit a violation of this article or of any rule, regulation or order issued by the commissioner hereunder, the commissioner may apply to the circuit court for an order enjoining such person or such director, officer, employee or agent thereof from violating or continuing to violate this chapter or any such rule, regulation or order, and for such other equitable relief as the nature of the case and the interests of the insurer's policyholders, creditors and shareholders or the public may require.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 33-27-8
- Commissioner: means the West Virginia Insurance Commissioner, his or her deputies or the West Virginia offices of the Insurance Commissioner, as appropriate. See West Virginia Code 33-27-2
- 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
- Insurer: means any person or persons or corporation, partnership or company authorized by the laws of this state to transact the business of insurance in this state, except that it shall not include 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 West Virginia Code 33-27-2
- Person: means an individual, a corporation, a limited liability company, a partnership, an association, a joint-stock company, a trust, an unincorporated organization, a depository institution or 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 West Virginia Code 33-27-2
- 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.
- 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) Voting of securities: when prohibited. — No security which is the subject of any agreement or arrangement regarding acquisition, or which is acquired or to be acquired, in contravention of the provisions of this article or of any rule, regulation or order issued by the commissioner hereunder may be voted at any shareholders' meeting, or may be counted for quorum purposes, and any action of shareholders requiring the affirmative vote of a percentage of shares may be taken as though such securities were not issued and outstanding; but no action taken at any such meeting shall be invalidated by the voting of such 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 commissioner 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, regulation or order issued by the commissioner hereunder the insurer or the commissioner may apply to the circuit court to enjoin any offer, request, invitation, agreement or acquisition made in contravention of section four of this article, or any rule, regulation or order issued by the commissioner thereunder to enjoin the voting of any security so acquired, to void any vote of such security already cast at any meeting of shareholders, and for such other equitable relief as the nature of the case and the interests of the insurer's policyholders, creditors and shareholders or the public may require.
(c) Sequestration of voting securities. — In any case where a person has acquired or is proposing to acquire any voting securities in violation of this article or any rule, regulation or order issued by the commissioner hereunder, the circuit court may, on such notice as the court deems appropriate, upon the application of the insurer or the commissioner seize or sequester any voting securities of the insurer owned directly or indirectly by such person, and issue such orders with respect thereto as may be appropriate to effectuate the provisions of this article. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, for the purposes of this article, the situs of the ownership of the securities of domestic insurers shall be deemed to be in this state.