21-218.01. Definitions.

(MBCA 1.45) In sections 21-218.01 to 21-218.08:

(1) Corporate action means any action taken by or on behalf of the corporation, including any action taken by the incorporator, the board of directors, a committee of the board of directors, an officer or agent of the corporation, or the shareholders.

(2) Date of the defective corporate action means the date, or the approximate date, if the exact date is unknown, the defective corporate action was purported to have been taken.

(3) Defective corporate action means (i) any corporate action purportedly taken that is, and at the time such corporate action was purportedly taken would have been, within the power of the corporation, but is void or voidable due to a failure of authorization, and (ii) an overissue.

(4) Failure of authorization means the failure to authorize, approve, or otherwise effect a corporate action in compliance with the provisions of the Nebraska Model Business Corporation Act, the articles of incorporation or bylaws, a corporate resolution or any plan or agreement to which the corporation is a party, if and to the extent such failure would render such corporate action void or voidable.

(5) Overissue means the purported issuance of:

(i) Shares of a class or series in excess of the number of shares of a class or series the corporation has the power to issue under section 21-237 at the time of such issuance; or

(ii) Shares of any class or series that is not then authorized for issuance by the articles of incorporation.

(6) Putative shares means the shares of any class or series, including shares issued upon exercise of rights, options, warrants, or other securities convertible into shares of the corporation, or interests with respect to such shares, that were created or issued as a result of a defective corporate action, that (i) but for any failure of authorization would constitute valid shares, or (ii) cannot be determined by the board of directors to be valid shares.

(7) Valid shares means the shares of any class or series that have been duly authorized and validly issued in accordance with the act, including as a result of ratification or validation under sections 21-218.01 to 21-218.08.

(8) Validation effective time with respect to any defective corporate action ratified under sections 21-218.01 to 21-218.08 means the later of:

(i) The time at which the ratification of the defective corporate action is approved by the shareholders, or if approval of shareholders is not required, the time at which the notice required by section 21-218.05 becomes effective in accordance with section 21-215; and

(ii) The time at which any articles of validation filed in accordance with section 21-218.07 become effective.

The validation effective time shall not be affected by the filing or pendency of a judicial proceeding under section 21-218.08 or otherwise, unless otherwise ordered by the court.

Source:Laws 2020, LB808, § 3.
21-218.02. Defective corporate actions.

(MBCA 1.46) (a) A defective corporate action shall not be void or voidable if ratified in accordance with section 21-218.03 or validated in accordance with section 21-218.08.

(b) Ratification under section 21-218.03 or validation under section 21-218.08 shall not be deemed to be the exclusive means of ratifying or validating any defective corporate action, and the absence or failure of ratification in accordance with sections 21-218.01 to 21-218.08 shall not, of itself, affect the validity or effectiveness of any corporate action properly ratified under common law or otherwise, nor shall it create a presumption that any such corporate action is or was a defective corporate action or void or voidable.

(c) In the case of an overissue, putative shares shall be valid shares effective as of the date originally issued or purportedly issued upon:

(1) The effectiveness under sections 21-218.01 to 21-218.08 and under sections 21-2,150 to 21-2,160 of an amendment to the articles of incorporation authorizing, designating, or creating such shares; or

(2) The effectiveness of any other corporate action under sections 21-218.01 to 21-218.08 ratifying the authorization, designation, or creation of such shares.

Source:Laws 2020, LB808, § 4.
21-218.03. Ratification of defective corporate actions.

(MBCA 1.47) (a) To ratify a defective corporate action under this section, other than the ratification of an election of the initial board of directors under subsection (b) of this section, the board of directors shall take action ratifying the action in accordance with section 21-218.04, stating:

(1) The defective corporate action to be ratified and, if the defective corporate action involved the issuance of putative shares, the number and type of putative shares purportedly issued;

(2) The date of the defective corporate action;

(3) The nature of the failure of authorization with respect to the defective corporate action to be ratified; and

(4) That the board of directors approves the ratification of the defective corporate action.

(b) In the event that a defective corporate action to be ratified relates to the election of the initial board of directors of the corporation under subdivision (a)(2) of section 21-223, a majority of the persons who, at the time of the ratification, are exercising the powers of directors may take an action stating:

(1) The name of the person or persons who first took action in the name of the corporation as the initial board of directors of the corporation;

(2) The earlier of the date on which such persons first took such action or were purported to have been elected as the initial board of directors; and

(3) That the ratification of the election of such person or persons as the initial board of directors is approved.

(c) If any provision of the Nebraska Model Business Corporation Act, the articles of incorporation or bylaws, any corporate resolution, or any plan or agreement to which the corporation is a party in effect at the time action under subsection (a) of this section is taken requires shareholder approval or would have required shareholder approval at the date of the occurrence of the defective corporate action, the ratification of the defective corporate action approved in the action taken by the directors under subsection (a) of this section shall be submitted to the shareholders for approval in accordance with section 21-218.04.

(d) Unless otherwise provided in the action taken by the board of directors under subsection (a) of this section, after the action by the board of directors has been taken and, if required, approved by the shareholders, the board of directors may abandon the ratification at any time before the validation effective time without further action of the shareholders.

Source:Laws 2020, LB808, § 5.
21-218.04. Action on ratification.

(MBCA 1.48) (a) The quorum and voting requirements applicable to a ratifying action by the board of directors under subsection (a) of section 21-218.03 shall be the quorum and voting requirements applicable to the corporate action proposed to be ratified at the time such ratifying action is taken.

(b) If the ratification of the defective corporate action requires approval by the shareholders under subsection (c) of section 21-218.03, and if the approval is to be given at a meeting, the corporation shall notify each holder of valid and putative shares, regardless of whether entitled to vote, as of the record date for notice of the meeting and as of the date of the occurrence of defective corporate action, provided that notice shall not be required to be given to holders of valid or putative shares whose identities or addresses for notice cannot be determined from the records of the corporation. The notice must state that the purpose, or one of the purposes, of the meeting, is to consider ratification of a defective corporate action and must be accompanied by (i) either a copy of the action taken by the board of directors in accordance with subsection (c) of section 21-218.03 or the information required by subdivisions (a)(1) through (4) of section 21-218.03, and (ii) a statement that any claim that the ratification of such defective corporate action and any putative shares issued as a result of such defective corporate action should not be effective, or should be effective only on certain conditions, must be brought within one hundred twenty days from the applicable validation effective time.

(c) Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section with respect to the voting requirements to ratify the election of a director, the quorum and voting requirements applicable to the approval by the shareholders required by subsection (c) of section 21-218.03 shall be the quorum and voting requirements applicable to the corporate action proposed to be ratified at the time of such shareholder approval.

(d) The approval by shareholders to ratify the election of a director requires that the votes cast within the voting group favoring such ratification exceed the votes cast opposing such ratification of the election at a meeting at which a quorum is present.

(e) Putative shares on the record date for determining the shareholders entitled to vote on any matter submitted to shareholders under subsection (c) of section 21-218.03, and without giving effect to any ratification of putative shares that becomes effective as a result of such vote, shall neither be entitled to vote nor counted for quorum purposes in any vote to approve the ratification of any defective corporate action.

(f) If the approval under this section of putative shares would result in an overissue, in addition to the approval required by section 21-218.03, approval of an amendment to the articles of incorporation under sections 21-2,150 to 21-2,160 to increase the number of shares of an authorized class or series or to authorize the creation of a class or series of shares so there would be no overissue shall also be required.

Source:Laws 2020, LB808, § 6.
21-218.05. Notice requirements.

(MBCA 1.49) (a) Unless shareholder approval is required under subsection (c) of section 21-218.03, prompt notice of an action taken under section 21-218.03 shall be given to each holder of valid and putative shares, regardless of whether entitled to vote, as of (i) the date of such action by the board of directors and (ii) the date of the defective corporate action ratified, provided that notice shall not be required to be given to holders of valid and putative shares whose identities or addresses for notice cannot be determined from the records of the corporation.

(b) The notice must contain (i) either a copy of the action taken by the board of directors in accordance with subsection (a) or (b) of section 21-218.03 or the information required by subdivisions (a)(1) through (4) or (b)(1) through (3) of section 21-218.03, as applicable, and (ii) a statement that any claim that the ratification of the defective corporate action and any putative shares issued as a result of such defective corporate action should not be effective, or should be effective only on certain conditions, must be brought within one hundred twenty days from the applicable validation effective time.

(c) No notice under this section is required with respect to any action required to be submitted to shareholders for approval under subsection (c) of section 21-218.03 if notice is given in accordance with subsection (b) of section 21-218.04.

(d) A notice required by this section may be given in any manner permitted by section 21-215 and, for any corporation subject to the reporting requirements of section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, may be given by means of a filing or furnishing of such notice with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

Source:Laws 2020, LB808, § 7.
21-218.06. Effect of ratification.

(MBCA 1.50) From and after the validation effective time, and without regard to the one-hundred-twenty-day period during which a claim may be brought under section 21-218.08:

(a) Each defective corporate action ratified in accordance with section 21-218.03 shall not be void or voidable as a result of the failure of authorization identified in the action taken under subsection (a) or (b) of section 21-218.03 and shall be deemed a valid corporate action effective as of the date of the defective corporate action;

(b) The issuance of each putative share or fraction of a putative share purportedly issued pursuant to a defective corporate action identified in the action taken under section 21-218.03 shall not be void or voidable, and each such putative share or fraction of a putative share shall be deemed to be an identical share or fraction of a valid share as of the time it was purportedly issued; and

(c) Any corporate action taken subsequent to the defective corporate action ratified in accordance with sections 21-218.01 to 21-218.08 in reliance on such defective corporate action having been validly effected and any subsequent defective corporate action resulting directly or indirectly from such original defective corporate action shall be valid as of the time taken.

Source:Laws 2020, LB808, § 8.
21-218.07. Filings.

(MBCA 1.51) (a) If the defective corporate action ratified under sections 21-218.01 to 21-218.08 would have required under any other section of the Nebraska Model Business Corporation Act a filing in accordance with the act, then, regardless of whether a filing was previously made in respect of such defective corporate action and in lieu of a filing otherwise required by the act, the corporation shall file articles of validation in accordance with this section, and such articles of validation shall serve to amend or substitute for any other filing with respect to such defective corporate action required by the act.

(b) The articles of validation must set forth:

(1) The defective corporate action that is the subject of the articles of validation, including, in the case of any defective corporate action involving the issuance of putative shares, the number and type of putative shares issued and the date or dates upon which such putative shares were purported to have been issued;

(2) The date of the defective corporate action;

(3) The nature of the failure of authorization in respect of the defective corporate action;

(4) A statement that the defective corporate action was ratified in accordance with section 21-218.03, including the date on which the board of directors ratified such defective corporate action and the date, if any, on which the shareholders approved the ratification of such defective corporate action; and

(5) The information required by subsection (c) of this section.

(c) The articles of validation must also contain the following information:

(1) If a filing was previously made in respect of the defective corporate action and no changes to such filing are required to give effect to the ratification of such defective corporate action in accordance with section 21-218.03, the articles of validation must set forth (i) the name, title, and filing date of the filing previously made and any articles of correction to that filing and (ii) a statement that a copy of the filing previously made, together with any articles of correction to that filing, is attached as an exhibit to the articles of validation;

(2) If a filing was previously made in respect of the defective corporate action and such filing requires any change to give effect to the ratification of such defective corporate action in accordance with section 21-218.03, the articles of validation must set forth (i) the name, title, and filing date of the filing previously made and any articles of correction to that filing and (ii) a statement that a filing containing all of the information required to be included under the applicable section or sections of the act to give effect to such defective corporate action is attached as an exhibit to the articles of validation, and (iii) the date and time that such filing is deemed to have become effective; or

(3) If a filing was not previously made in respect of the defective corporate action and the defective corporate action ratified under section 21-218.03 would have required a filing under any other section of the act, the articles of validation must set forth (i) a statement that a filing containing all of the information required to be included under the applicable section or sections of the act to give effect to such defective corporate action is attached as an exhibit to the articles of validation, and (ii) the date and time that such filing is deemed to have become effective.

Source:Laws 2020, LB808, § 9.
21-218.08. Judicial proceedings regarding validity of corporate actions.

(MBCA 1.52) (a) Upon application by the corporation, any successor entity to the corporation, a director of the corporation, any shareholder, beneficial shareholder, or unrestricted voting trust beneficial owner of the corporation, including any such shareholder, beneficial shareholder, or unrestricted voting trust beneficial owner as of the date of the defective corporate action ratified under section 21-218.03, or any other person claiming to be substantially and adversely affected by a ratification under section 21-218.03, the court may:

(1) Determine the validity and effectiveness of any corporate action or defective corporate action;

(2) Determine the validity and effectiveness of any ratification under section 21-218.03;

(3) Determine the validity of any putative shares; and

(4) Modify or waive any of the procedures specified in section 21-218.03 or 21-218.04 to ratify a defective corporate action.

(b) In connection with an action under this section, the court may make such findings or orders, and take into account any factors or considerations, regarding such matters as it deems proper under the circumstances.

(c) Service of process of the application under subsection (a) of this section on the corporation may be made in any manner provided by statute of this state or by rule of the applicable court for service on the corporation, and no other party need be joined in order for the court to adjudicate the matter. In an action filed by the corporation, the court may require notice of the action be provided to other persons specified by the court and permit such other persons to intervene in the action.

(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or otherwise under applicable law, any action asserting that the ratification of any defective corporate action and any putative shares issued as a result of such defective corporate action should not be effective, or should be effective only on certain conditions, shall be brought within one hundred twenty days of the validation effective time.

Source:Laws 2020, LB808, § 10.