(a) A limited liability company is a member-managed limited liability company unless the articles of organization contain the statement required by paragraph (5) of subdivision (b) of Section 17702.01.
(b) In a member-managed limited liability company, the following rules apply:
(1) The management and conduct of the limited liability company are vested in the members.
(2) Except as provided in subdivision (r), each member has equal rights in the management and conduct of the limited liability company’s activities including equal voting rights.
(3) A difference arising among members as to a matter in the ordinary course of the activities of the limited liability company shall be decided by a majority of the members.
(4) Except as otherwise provided in Article 10 (commencing with Section 17710.01), an act outside the ordinary course of the activities of the limited liability company may be undertaken only with the consent of all members.
(5) The operating agreement may be amended only with the consent of all members.
(c) In a manager-managed limited liability company, the following rules apply:
(1) Except as otherwise expressly provided in this title, any matter relating to the activities of the limited liability company is decided exclusively by the managers.
(2) Each manager has equal rights in the management and conduct of the activities of the limited liability company.
(3) A difference arising among managers as to a matter in the ordinary course of the activities of the limited liability company may be decided by a majority of the managers of the limited liability company.
(4) The consent of all members of the limited liability company is required to do any of the following:
(A) Sell, lease, exchange, or otherwise dispose of all, or substantially all, of the limited liability company’s property, with or without the goodwill, outside the ordinary course of the limited liability company’s activities.
(B) Except as otherwise provided in Article 10 (commencing with Section 17710.01), any other act outside the ordinary course of the limited liability company’s activities.
(5) A manager may be chosen at any time by the consent of a majority of the members and remains a manager until a successor has been chosen, unless the manager at an earlier time resigns, is removed, or dies, or, in the case of a manager that is not an individual, terminates. A manager may be removed at any time by the consent of a majority of the members without cause, subject to the rights, if any, of the manager under any service contract with the limited liability company.
(6) A person need not be a member to be a manager, but the dissociation of a member that is also a manager removes the person as a manager. If a person that is both a manager and a member ceases to be a manager, that cessation does not by itself dissociate the person as a member.
(7) A person’s ceasing to be a manager does not discharge any debt, obligation, or other liability to the limited liability company or members which the person incurred while a manager.
(d) Except for such orders as may be made by a court of competent jurisdiction over a dissolution under Section 17707.03, the dissolution of a limited liability company does not affect the applicability of this section. However, a person that wrongfully causes dissolution of the limited liability company loses the right to participate in management as a member and a manager.
(e) This title does not entitle a member to remuneration for services performed for a member-managed limited liability company, except for reasonable compensation for services rendered in winding up the activities of a limited liability company.
(f) Meetings of members may be held at any place, by electronic video screen communication or by electronic transmission by and to the limited liability company pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (i) of Section 17701.02, either within or without this state, selected by the person or persons calling the meeting or as may be stated in or fixed in accordance with the articles of organization or a written operating agreement. If no other place is stated or so fixed, all meetings shall be held at the principal office of the limited liability company. Unless prohibited by the articles of organization of the limited liability company, if authorized by the operating agreement, members not physically present in person or by proxy at a meeting of members may, by electronic transmission by and to the limited liability company pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (i) of Section 17701.02 or by electronic video screen communication, participate in a meeting of members, be deemed present in person or by proxy, and vote at a meeting of members whether that meeting is to be held at a designated place or in whole or in part by means of electronic transmission by and to the limited liability company or by electronic video screen communication, in accordance with subdivision (l).
(g) A meeting of the members may be called by any manager or by any member or members representing more than 10 percent of the interests in current profits of members for the purpose of addressing any matters on which the members may vote.
(h) (1) Whenever members are required or permitted to take any action at a meeting, a written notice of the meeting shall be given not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days before the date of the meeting to each member entitled to vote at the meeting. The notice shall state the place, date, and hour of the meeting, the means of electronic transmission by and to the limited liability company or electronic video screen communication, if any, and the general nature of the business to be transacted. No other business may be transacted at that meeting.
(2) Any report or any notice of a members’ meeting shall be given personally, by electronic transmission by the limited liability company, or by mail or other means of written communication, addressed to the member at the address of the member appearing on the books of the limited liability company or given by the member to the limited liability company for the purpose of notice, or, if no address appears or is given, at the place where the principal office of the limited liability company is located or by publication at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the principal office is located. The notice or report shall be deemed to have been given at the time when delivered personally, delivered by electronic transmission by the limited liability company, deposited in the mail, or sent by other means of written communication. An affidavit of mailing or delivered by electronic transmission by the limited liability company of any notice or report in accordance with this article, executed by a manager, shall be prima facie evidence of the giving of the notice or report.
(3) If any notice or report addressed to the member at the address of the member appearing on the books of the limited liability company is returned to the limited liability company by the United States Postal Service marked to indicate that the United States Postal Service is unable to deliver the notice or report to the member at the address, all future notices or reports shall be deemed to have been duly given without further mailing if they are available for the member at the principal office of the limited liability company for a period of one year from the date of the giving of the notice or report to all other members.
(4) Notice given by electronic transmission by the limited liability company under this subdivision shall be valid only if it complies with paragraph (1) of subdivision (i) of Section 17701.02.
Notwithstanding this condition, notice shall not be given by electronic transmission by the limited liability company under this subdivision after either of the following has occurred:
(A) The limited liability company is unable to deliver two consecutive notices to the member by that means.
(B) The inability to so deliver the notices to the member becomes known to the secretary, any assistant secretary, the transfer agent, or any other person responsible for the giving of the notice.
(5) Upon written request to a manager by any person entitled to call a meeting of members, the manager shall immediately cause notice to be given to the members entitled to vote that a meeting will be held at a time requested by the person calling the meeting, not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days after the receipt of the request. If the notice is not given within 20 days after receipt of the request, the person entitled to call the meeting may give the notice or, upon the application of that person, the superior court of the county in which the principal office of the limited liability company is located, or if the principal office is not in this state, the county in which the limited liability company’s address in this state is located, shall summarily order the giving of the notice, after notice to the limited liability company affording it an opportunity to be heard. The procedure provided in subdivision (c) of Section 305 shall apply to the application. The court may issue any order as may be appropriate, including, without limitation, an order designating the time and place of the meeting, the record date for determination of members entitled to vote, and the form of notice.
(i) When a members’ meeting is adjourned to another time or place, unless the articles of organization or a written operating agreement otherwise require and except as provided in this subdivision, notice need not be given of the adjourned meeting if the time and place thereof or the means of electronic transmission by and to the limited liability company or electronic video screen communication, if any, are announced at the meeting at which the adjournment is taken. At the adjourned meeting, the limited liability company may transact any business that may have been transacted at the original meeting. If the adjournment is for more than 45 days, or if after the adjournment a new record date is fixed for the adjourned meeting, a notice of the adjourned meeting shall be given to each member of record entitled to vote at the meeting.
(j) The actions taken at any meeting of members, however called and noticed, and wherever held, have the same validity as if taken at a meeting duly held after regular call and notice, if a quorum is present either in person or by proxy, and if, either before or after the meeting, each of the members entitled to vote, not present in person or by proxy, provides a waiver of notice or consents to the holding of the meeting or approves the minutes of the meeting in writing. All waivers, consents, and approvals shall be filed with the limited liability company records or made a part of the minutes of the meeting after conversion to the form in which those records or minutes are kept. Attendance of a person at a meeting shall constitute a waiver of notice of the meeting, except when the person objects, at the beginning of the meeting, to the transaction of any business because the meeting is not lawfully called or convened. Attendance at a meeting is not a waiver of any right to object to the consideration of matters required by this title to be included in the notice but not so included, if the objection is expressly made at the meeting. Neither the business to be transacted nor the purpose of any meeting of members need be specified in any written waiver of notice, unless otherwise provided in the articles of organization or operating agreement, except as provided in subdivision (l).
(k) Members may participate in a meeting of the limited liability company through the use of conference telephones or electronic video screen communication, as long as all members participating in the meeting can hear one another, or by electronic transmission by and to the limited liability company pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (i) of Section 17701.02. Participation in a meeting pursuant to this provision constitutes presence in person at that meeting.
(l) Any action approved at a meeting, other than by unanimous approval of those entitled to vote, shall be valid only if the general nature of the proposal so approved was stated in the notice of meeting or in any written waiver of notice.
(m) (1) A majority of the members represented in person or by proxy shall constitute a quorum at a meeting of members.
(2) The members present at a duly called or held meeting at which a quorum is present may continue to transact business until adjournment, notwithstanding the loss of a quorum, if any action taken after loss of a quorum, other than adjournment, is approved by the requisite percentage of interests of members specified in this title or in the articles of organization or a written operating agreement.
(3) In the absence of a quorum, any meeting of members may be adjourned from time to time by the vote of a majority of the interests represented either in person or by proxy, but no other business may be transacted, except as provided in paragraph (2).
(n) (1) Any action that may be taken at any meeting of the members may be taken without a meeting if a consent in writing, setting forth the action so taken, is signed and delivered to the limited liability company within 60 days of the record date for that action by members having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take that action at a meeting at which all members entitled to vote thereon were present and voted.
(2) Unless the consents of all members entitled to vote have been solicited in writing, (A) notice of any member approval of an amendment to the articles of organization or operating agreement, a dissolution of the limited liability company as provided in Section 17707.01, or a merger of the limited liability company as provided in Section 17710.10, without a meeting by less than unanimous written consent shall be given at least 10 days before the consummation of the action authorized by the approval, and (B) prompt notice shall be given of the taking of any other action approved by members without a meeting by less than unanimous written consent, to those members entitled to vote who have not consented in writing.
(3) Any member giving a written consent, or the member’s proxyholder, may revoke the consent personally or by proxy by a writing received by the limited liability company prior to the time that written consents of members having the minimum number of votes that would be required to authorize the proposed action have been filed with the limited liability company, but may not do so thereafter. This revocation is effective upon its receipt at the office of the limited liability company required to be maintained pursuant to Section 17701.13.
(o) The use of proxies in connection with this section shall be governed in the same manner as in the case of corporations formed under the General Corporation Law, Division 1 (commencing with Section 100) of Title 1.
(p) In order that the limited liability company may determine the members of record entitled to notices of any meeting or to vote, or entitled to receive any distribution or to exercise any rights in respect of any other lawful action, a manager, or members representing more than 10 percent of the interests of members, may fix, in advance, a record date, that is not more than 60 days nor less than 10 days prior to the date of the meeting and not more than 60 days prior to any other action. If no record date is fixed the following shall apply:
(1) The record date for determining members entitled to notice of or to vote at a meeting of members shall be at the close of business on the business day next preceding the day on which notice is given or, if notice is waived, at the close of business on the business day next preceding the day on which the meeting is held.
(2) The record date for determining members entitled to give consent to limited liability company action in writing without a meeting shall be the day on which the first written consent is given.
(3) The record date for determining members for any other purpose shall be at the close of business on the day on which the managers adopt the resolution relating thereto, or the 60th day prior to the date of the other action, whichever is later.
(4) The determination of members of record entitled to notice of or to vote at a meeting of members shall apply to any adjournment of the meeting unless a manager or the members who called the meeting fix a new record date for the adjourned meeting, but the manager or the members who called the meeting shall fix a new record date if the meeting is adjourned for more than 45 days from the date set for the original meeting.
(q) A meeting of the members may be conducted, in whole or in part, by electronic transmission by and to the limited liability company or by electronic video screen communication if both of the following requirements are met:
(1) The limited liability company implements reasonable measures to provide members, in person or by proxy, a reasonable opportunity to participate in the meeting and to vote on matters submitted to the members, including an opportunity to read or hear the proceedings of the meeting substantially concurrently with those proceedings.
(2) When any member votes or takes other action at the meeting by means of electronic transmission to the limited liability company or electronic video screen communication, a record of that vote or action shall be maintained by the limited liability company.
(r) The articles of organization or a written operating agreement may provide to all or certain identified members of a specified class or group of members the right to vote separately or with all or any class or group of members on any matter. Voting by members may be on a per capita, number, financial interest, class, group, or any other basis. If no voting provision is contained in the articles of organization or written operating agreement, each of the following shall apply:
(1) The members of a limited liability company shall vote in proportion to their interests in current profits of the limited liability company or, in the case of a member who has assigned the member’s entire transferable interest in the limited liability company to a person who has not been admitted as a member, in proportion to the interest in current profits that the assigning member would have, had the assignment not been made.
(2) Any amendment to the articles of organization or operating agreement shall require the unanimous vote of all members.
(3) In all other matters in which a vote is required, except as otherwise provided in this section, a vote of a majority of the members shall be sufficient.
(s) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in the articles of organization or operating agreement, in no event shall the articles of organization be amended by a vote of less than a majority of the members.
(t) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in the articles of organization or operating agreement, members shall have the right to vote on a dissolution of the limited liability company as provided in subdivision (b) of Section 17707.01, on a conversion to another business entity as provided in subdivision (b) of Section 17710.03, and on a merger of the limited liability company as provided in Section 17710.12.
(u) A written operating agreement may provide for the appointment of officers, including, but not limited to, a chairperson or a president, or both a chairperson and a president, a secretary, a chief financial officer, and any other officers with the titles, powers, and duties as shall be specified in the articles of organization or operating agreement or as determined by the managers or members. An officer may, but does not need to, be a member or manager of the limited liability company, and any number of offices may be held by the same person.
(v) Officers, if any, shall be appointed in accordance with the written operating agreement or, if no such provision is made in the operating agreement, any officers shall be appointed by the managers and shall serve at the pleasure of the managers, subject to the rights, if any, of an officer under any contract of employment. Any officer may resign at any time upon written notice to the limited liability company without prejudice to the rights, if any, of the limited liability under any contract to which the officer is a party.
(w) Subject to the provisions of the articles of organization, any note, mortgage, evidence of indebtedness, contract, certificate, statement, conveyance, or other instrument in writing, and any assignment or endorsement thereof, executed or entered into between any limited liability company and any other person, when signed by the chairperson of the board, the president, or any vice president and any secretary, any assistant secretary, the chief financial officer, or any assistant treasurer of the limited liability company, is not invalidated as to the limited liability company by any lack of authority of the signing officers in the absence of actual knowledge on the part of the other person that the signing officers had no authority to execute the same.
(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 775, Sec. 7. (AB 506) Effective January 1, 2016.)