607.0732 Shareholder agreements.—
(1) An agreement among the shareholders of a corporation with 100 or fewer shareholders at the time of the agreement, 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, if it:
(a) Eliminates the board of directors or restricts the discretion or powers of the board of directors;
(b) Governs the authorization or making of distributions whether or not in proportion to ownership of shares, subject to the limitations in s. 607.06401;
(c) Establishes who shall be directors or officers of the corporation, or their terms of office or manner of selection or removal;
(d) Governs, in general or in regard to specific matters, the exercise or division of voting power by the shareholders and directors, including use of weighted voting rights or director proxies;
(e) Establishes the terms and conditions of any agreement for the transfer or use of property or the provision of services between the corporation and any shareholder, director, officer, or employee of the corporation;
(f) Transfers to any shareholder or other person any authority to exercise the corporate powers or to manage the business and affairs of the corporation, including the resolution of any issue about which there exists a deadlock among directors or shareholders; or
(g) Requires dissolution of the corporation at the request of one or more of the shareholders or upon the occurrence of a specified event or contingency.
(h) Otherwise governs the exercise of the corporate powers or the management of the business and affairs of the corporation or the relationship between the shareholders, the directors, or the corporation, and is not contrary to public policy. For purposes of this paragraph, agreements contrary to public policy include, but are not limited to, agreements that reduce the duties of care and loyalty to the corporation as required by ss. 607.0830 and 607.0832, exculpate directors from liability that may be imposed under s. 607.0831, adversely affect shareholders’ rights to bring derivative actions under s. 607.07401, or abrogate dissenters’ rights under ss. 607.1301-607.1320.
(2) An agreement authorized by this section shall be:
(a)1. Set forth in the articles of incorporation or bylaws and approved by all persons who are shareholders at the time the agreement; or
2. Set forth in a written agreement that is signed by all persons who are shareholders at the time of the agreement and such written agreement is made known to the corporation.
(b) Subject to termination or amendment only by all persons who are shareholders at the time of the termination or amendment, unless the agreement provides otherwise with respect to termination and with respect to amendments that do not change the designation, rights, preferences, or limitations of any of the shares of a class or series.
(3) The existence of an agreement authorized by this section shall be noted conspicuously on the front or back of each certificate for outstanding shares or on the information statement required by s. 607.0626(2). If at the time of the agreement the corporation has shares outstanding which are represented by certificates, the corporation shall recall such certificates and issue substitute certificates that comply with this subsection. The failure to note the existence of the agreement on the certificate or information statement shall not affect the validity of the agreement or any action taken pursuant to it. Any purchaser of shares who, at the time of purchase, did not have knowledge of the existence of the agreement shall be entitled to rescission of the purchase. A purchaser shall be deemed to have knowledge of the existence of the agreement if its existence is noted on the certificate or information statement for the shares in compliance with this subsection and, if the shares are not represented by a certificate, the information statement is delivered to the purchaser at or prior to the time of the purchase of the shares. An action to enforce the right of rescission authorized by this subsection must be commenced within earlier of 90 days after discovery of the existence of the agreement or 2 years after the time of purchase of the shares.
(4) An agreement authorized by this section shall cease to be effective when shares of the corporation are listed on a national securities exchange or regularly quoted in a market maintained by one or more members of a national or affiliated securities association. If the agreement ceases to be effective for any reason, the board of directors may, if the agreement is contained or referred to in the corporation’s articles of incorporation or bylaws, adopt an amendment to the articles of incorporation or bylaws, without shareholder action, to delete the agreement and any references to it.
(5) An agreement authorized by this section that limits the discretion or powers of the board of directors shall relieve the directors of, and impose upon the person or persons in whom such discretion or powers are vested, liability for acts or omissions imposed by law on directors to the extent that the discretion or powers of the directors are limited by the agreement.
(6) The existence or performance of an agreement authorized by this section shall not be a ground for imposing personal liability on any shareholder for the acts or debts of the corporation even if the agreement or its performance treats the corporation as if it were a partnership or results in failure to observe the corporate formalities otherwise applicable to the matters governed by the agreement.
(7) Incorporators or subscribers for shares may act as shareholders with respect to an agreement authorized by this section if no shares have been issued when the agreement is made.
History.—s. 20, ch. 93-281; s. 2, ch. 94-327; s. 5, ch. 97-230.
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