Title 13.1, Title 13.1. Corporations

A. Subject to the provisions of § 13.1-651, a corporation may issue rights, options or warrants for the purchase of shares or other securities of the corporation. Unless reserved to the shareholders in the articles of incorporation, the board of directors or, if authorized pursua…

A. Shares may but need not be represented by certificates. Unless this chapter or another statute expressly provides otherwise, the rights and obligations of shareholders are identical regardless of whether their shares are represented by certificates. B. At a minimum each share …

A. Unless the articles of incorporation or bylaws provide otherwise, the board of directors of a corporation may authorize the issuance of some or all of the shares of any or all of its classes or series without certificates. The authorization does not affect shares already repre…

A. The articles of incorporation, the bylaws, an agreement among shareholders, or an agreement between shareholders and the corporation may impose restrictions on the transfer or registration of transfer of shares of the corporation. A restriction does not affect shares issued be…

A corporation may pay the expenses of selling or underwriting its shares, and of organizing or reorganizing the corporation, from the consideration received for shares.

A. Unless limited or denied in the articles of incorporation and subject to the limitations in subsection C, the shareholders of a corporation incorporated on or before December 31, 2005, have a preemptive right, granted on uniform terms and conditions prescribed by the board of …

A. A corporation may acquire its own shares, and shares so acquired constitute authorized but unissued shares of the same class, if any, but undesignated as to series. B. If the articles of incorporation prohibit the reissuance of acquired shares or if the board of directors has …

A. The board of directors may authorize and the corporation may make distributions to its shareholders, subject to restriction by the articles of incorporation and the limitation in subsection C. B. The board of directors may fix the record date for determining shareholders entit…

A. Unless directors are elected by written consent in lieu of an annual meeting as permitted by § 13.1-657, a corporation shall hold a meeting of shareholders annually at a time stated in or fixed in accordance with the bylaws, except that a corporation registered under the feder…

A. A corporation shall hold a special meeting of shareholders: 1. On call of the chairman of the board of directors, the president, the board of directors, or the person or persons authorized to do so by the articles of incorporation or bylaws; or 2. In the case of a corporation …

A. The circuit court of the city or county where a corporation's principal office is located or, if none in the Commonwealth, where its registered office is located, may, after notice to the corporation, order a meeting of shareholders to be held: 1. On petition of any shareholde…

A. Action required or permitted by this chapter to be taken at a shareholders' meeting may be taken without a meeting if the action is taken by all the shareholders entitled to vote on the action, in which case no action by the board of directors shall be required. The action sha…

A. Except as otherwise provided in subsection F, a corporation shall notify shareholders of the date, time, and place, if any, of each annual and special shareholders' meeting no fewer than 10 nor more than 60 days before the meeting date except that notice of a shareholders' mee…

A. A shareholder may waive any notice required by this chapter, the articles of incorporation, or bylaws before or after the date and time stated in the notice. The waiver shall be in writing, be signed by the shareholder entitled to the notice, and be delivered to the corporatio…

A. The bylaws may fix or provide the manner of fixing in advance the record date or dates for one or more voting groups to determine the shareholders entitled to notice of a shareholders' meeting, to demand a special meeting, to vote or take action by written consent, or to take …

A. At each meeting of shareholders, a chairman shall preside. The chairman shall be appointed as provided in the articles of incorporation, bylaws, or, in the absence of such provision, by the board of directors. B. Unless the articles of incorporation or bylaws provide otherwise…

A. Shareholders of any class or series of shares may participate in any meeting of shareholders by means of remote communication to the extent the board of directors authorizes such participation for such class or series. Participation as a shareholder by means of remote communic…

A. After fixing a record date for a meeting, a corporation shall prepare an alphabetical list of the names of all its shareholders who are entitled to notice of a shareholders' meeting. If the board of directors fixes a different record date under subsection E of § 13.1-660 to de…

A. Except as provided in subsections B, C, D, and E or unless the articles of incorporation provide otherwise, each outstanding share, regardless of class or series, is entitled to one vote on each matter voted on at a shareholders' meeting. Only shares are entitled to vote. B. U…

A. A shareholder may vote the shareholder's shares in person or by proxy. B. A shareholder, or the shareholder's agent or attorney-in-fact, may appoint a proxy to vote or otherwise act for the shareholder by signing an appointment form or by an electronic transmission. An electro…

A. A corporation's board of directors may establish a procedure under which a person on whose behalf shares are registered in the name of an intermediary or nominee may elect to be treated by the corporation as the record shareholder by filing with the corporation's secretary a b…

A. A public corporation shall, and any other corporation may, appoint one or more inspectors to act at a shareholders' meeting in connection with determining voting results. Each inspector shall verify in writing that the inspector will faithfully execute the duties of inspector …

A. If the name signed on a vote, ballot, consent, waiver, or proxy appointment corresponds to the name of a shareholder, the corporation, if acting in good faith, is entitled to accept the vote, ballot, consent, waiver, or proxy appointment and give it effect as the act of the sh…

A. Shares entitled to vote as a separate voting group may take action at a meeting only if a quorum of those shares exists for the meeting. Unless the articles of incorporation or this chapter provides otherwise, shares representing a majority of the votes entitled to be cast at …

A. If the articles of incorporation or this chapter provides for voting by a single voting group on a matter, action on that matter is taken when voted upon by that voting group as provided in § 13.1-666. B. If the articles of incorporation or this chapter provides for voting by …

A. The articles of incorporation may provide for (i) a lesser or greater quorum requirement for shareholders or voting groups of shareholders, but in each case not less than one third of the shares eligible to vote or (ii) a greater voting requirement for shareholders, or voting …

A. Unless otherwise provided in the articles of incorporation or the bylaws, directors are elected by a plurality of the votes cast by the shares entitled to vote in the election at a meeting at which a quorum is present. B. Shareholders do not have a right to cumulate their vote…

A. Upon application of, or in a proceeding commenced by, a person specified in subsection B, the circuit court in the county or city in which the principal office of the corporation is located, or, if none in the Commonwealth, in the county or city in which its registered office …

A. One or more shareholders may create a voting trust, conferring on a trustee the right to vote or otherwise act for them, by signing an agreement setting out the provisions of the trust, which may include anything consistent with its purpose, and transferring their shares to th…

A. Two or more shareholders may provide for the manner in which they will vote their shares by signing an agreement for that purpose. A voting agreement created under this section is not subject to the provisions of § 13.1-670. B. A voting agreement created under this section is …

A. An agreement among the shareholders of a corporation that complies with this section is effective among the shareholders and the corporation, even though it is inconsistent with one or more other provisions of this chapter in that it: 1. Eliminates the board of directors or, s…

A. A shareholder shall not commence or maintain a derivative proceeding unless the shareholder: 1. Was a shareholder of the corporation at the time of the act or omission complained of, became a shareholder through transfer by operation of law from one who was a shareholder at th…

A. A derivative proceeding may not be settled or discontinued without the court's approval. If the court determines that a proposed discontinuance or settlement will substantially and adversely affect the interests of the corporation's shareholders or a class or series of the cor…

Notwithstanding the provisions of §§ 13.1-672.1 and 13.1-672.4, in any derivative proceeding in the right of a foreign corporation, subject to the court's determination of whether the courts of the Commonwealth are a convenient forum for such a proceeding, the matters covered by …

A. A derivative proceeding shall be dismissed by the court on motion by the corporation if one of the groups specified in subsection B has, whether before or after the commencement of the derivative proceeding: 1. Conducted a review and evaluation, adequately informed in the circ…

On termination of a derivative proceeding, the court may: 1. Order the corporation to pay the plaintiff's expenses incurred in the proceeding if it finds that the derivative proceeding has resulted in a substantial benefit to the corporation; or 2. Order the plaintiff or the plai…

A. The circuit court in any city or county where a public corporation's principal office is or was last located, or, if none in the Commonwealth, where its registered office is or was last located may appoint one or more persons to be custodians, or, if the corporation is insolve…

As used in this article, "shareholder" means a record shareholder, a beneficial shareholder, and a voting trust beneficial owner whose entitlement to bring the proceeding under this article is not inconsistent with the voting trust agreement.

A. Except as provided in an agreement authorized by § 13.1-671.1, each corporation shall have a board of directors. B. All corporate powers shall be exercised by or under the authority of the board of directors, and the business and affairs of the corporation managed under the di…

A. The articles of incorporation or bylaws may prescribe qualifications for directors or for nominees for director. B. A requirement that is based on a past, current, or prospective action, or on an expression of an opinion, by a nominee or director that (i) relates to the discha…

A. A board of directors shall consist of one or more individuals, with the number specified in or fixed in accordance with the articles of incorporation or bylaws. The number of directors may be increased or decreased from time to time by amendment of, or in the manner provided i…

If the articles of incorporation authorize dividing the shares into classes or series, the articles of incorporation may also authorize the election of all or a specified number of directors by the holders of one or more authorized classes or series of shares. A class or series, …

A. The terms of the initial directors of a corporation expire at the first shareholders' meeting at which directors are elected, unless their terms are staggered pursuant to § 13.1-678, in which case the term shall expire at the applicable second or third annual shareholders' mee…

The articles of incorporation may provide for staggering the terms of directors by dividing the total number of directors into two or three groups, with each group containing one-half or one-third of the total, as near as may be practicable. In that event, the terms of directors …

A. A director may resign at any time by delivering a written notice of resignation to the board of directors or its chairman, or to the secretary of the corporation. B. A resignation is effective as provided in subdivision A 9 of § 13.1-610 unless the resignation provides for a d…

A. The shareholders may remove one or more directors with or without cause, unless the articles of incorporation provide that directors may be removed only for cause. B. If a director is elected by a voting group of shareholders, only the shareholders of that voting group may par…