181.0103(18m)
(18m) “Person" means an individual, business corporation, nonprofit or nonstock corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, general cooperative association, limited cooperative association, unincorporated association, statutory trust, business trust, common-law business trust, estate, trust, association, joint venture, public corporation, government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity.
181.0103(19)
(19) “Principal office" means the office, whether in or outside this state, of a domestic corporation or foreign corporation in which are located its principal executive offices and, if the domestic corporation or foreign corporation has filed an annual report under s.
181.0214, that is designated as the principal office in its most recent annual report.
181.0103(20)
(20) “Proceeding" includes a civil suit and criminal, administrative and investigatory action.
181.0103(20m)
(20m) “Property" means all property, whether real, personal, or mixed or tangible or intangible, or any right or interest therein.
181.0103(20r)
(20r) “Record," used as a noun, means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.
181.0103(21)
(21) “Record date" means the date established under s.
181.0707 on which a corporation determines the identity of its members for the purposes of this chapter.
181.0103(21m)
(21m) “Registered agent" means an agent of a corporation or foreign corporation that is authorized to receive service of any process, notice, or demand required or permitted by law to be served on the corporation or foreign corporation.
181.0103(22)
(22) “Secretary" means the corporate officer to whom the board has delegated responsibility under s.
181.0840 (1) for custody of the minutes of the board's meetings and members' meetings and for authenticating the records of the corporation.
181.0103(23)
(23) “Sign" means to execute or adopt a manual, facsimile, conformed, or electronic signature or any symbol with intent to authenticate a writing.
181.0103(23m)
(23m) “State" means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
181.0103(24)
(24) “Stock corporation" means a corporation with capital stock.
181.0103(25)
(25) “Vote" includes authorization by written ballot and written consent.
181.0103 Annotation
The New Nonstock Corporation Law. Seehawer. Wis. Law. Oct. 1998.
181.0105(1)(1)
A person knows a fact if any of the following applies:
181.0105(1)(b)
(b) The person is deemed to know the fact under law other than this chapter.
181.0105(2)
(2) A person has notice of a fact if the person has reason to know the fact from all the facts known to the person at the time in question.
181.0105(3)
(3) Subject to s.
181.0212 (7) or the law other than this chapter, a person notifies another person of a fact by taking steps reasonably required to inform the other person in ordinary course, whether or not those steps cause the other person to know the fact.
181.0105(4)
(4) This subsection applies to notice that is required under this chapter and that is made subject to this subsection by express reference to this subsection. Written notice is effective at the earliest of the following:
181.0105(4)(b)
(b) Five days after its deposit in the U.S. mail, if mailed postpaid and correctly addressed.
181.0105(4)(c)
(c) On the date shown on the return receipt, if sent by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, and the receipt is signed by or on behalf of the addressee.
181.0105(4)(d)
(d) For notices from the department, upon successful transmission by e-mail as provided in this chapter.
181.0105 History
History: 2021 a. 258.
181.0107
181.0107
Governing law. The law of this state governs all of the following:
181.0107(2)
(2) The liability of a member as member and a director as director for a debt, obligation, or other liability of a corporation.
181.0107 History
History: 2021 a. 258.
181.0121(1)(a)(a) The department shall prescribe and furnish on request forms for all of the following documents:
181.0121(1)(a)1.
1. A foreign corporation's application for a certificate of authority to transact business in this state under s.
181.1503.
181.0121(2)
(2)
Permissive forms. The department may prescribe and furnish on request forms for other documents required or permitted to be filed by this chapter, but use of these forms is not mandatory.
181.0127
181.0127
Evidentiary effect of copy of filed document. A certified copy of a document filed by the department is conclusive evidence that the original document is on file with the department.
181.0127 History
History: 1997 a. 79.
181.0129
181.0129
Penalty for false document. 181.0129(1)(1)
Signing false document. A person may not sign a document with intent that it be delivered to the department for filing or deliver, or cause to be delivered, a document to the department for filing, if the person knows that the document is false in any material respect at the time of its delivery.
181.0129(2)
(2)
Penalty. Whoever violates this section is guilty of a Class I felony.
181.0129 History
History: 1997 a. 79,
283;
2001 a. 109.
181.0141(1)(1)
Applicability. This section applies to notice that is required under this chapter and that is made subject to this section by express reference to this section.
181.0141(2)(a)
(a) A person shall give notice in writing, except as provided in par.
(b).
181.0141(2)(b)
(b) A person may give oral notice if oral notice is permitted by the articles of incorporation or bylaws and not otherwise prohibited by this chapter.
181.0141(3)
(3)
Method of communication. Unless otherwise provided in the articles of incorporation or bylaws, notice may be communicated in person, by telephone, telegraph, teletype, facsimile or other form of wire or wireless communication, or by mail or private carrier, and, if these forms of personal notice are impracticable, notice may be communicated by a newspaper of general circulation in the area where published, or by radio, television or other form of public broadcast communication.
181.0141(4)
(4)
Address to be used. Written notice to a domestic corporation or a foreign corporation authorized to transact business in this state may be addressed to its registered agent at its registered office or to the domestic corporation or foreign corporation at its principal office. With respect to a foreign corporation that has not yet filed an annual report under s.
181.0214, the address of the foreign corporation's principal office may be determined from its application for a certificate of authority.
181.0141 History
History: 1997 a. 79;
2021 a. 258.
181.0160(1)(1)
When court may order meeting or ballot. If the requirements of this subsection are met, the circuit court for the county where a corporation's principal office is located, or if a corporation's principal office is not located in this state the circuit court for the county where the corporation's registered office is located, may order a corporation to hold a meeting of members, delegates or directors or may order a corporation to authorize a written ballot for obtaining the vote of members, delegates or directors. The court may enter an order under this subsection only if at least one of the following conditions is met:
181.0160(1)(a)
(a) Upon the petition of the attorney general or a director, officer, delegate or member of the corporation, the court determines that it is impractical or impossible for the corporation to call or conduct a meeting of its members, delegates or directors, or to otherwise obtain their consent, in the manner described in this chapter or the corporation's articles of incorporation or bylaws.
181.0160(1)(b)
(b) Upon the petition of a member or another person entitled to participate in an annual member meeting, the court determines that the annual meeting was not held within 6 months after the end of the corporation's fiscal year or 15 months after its last annual meeting.
181.0160(1)(c)
(c) Upon the petition of a member or another person entitled to participate in a regular meeting, the court determines that the regular meeting is not held within 40 days after the date by which it was required to be held.
181.0160(1)(d)
(d) Upon the petition of a member who signed a valid demand under s.
181.0702 for a special meeting or upon the petition of another person entitled to call a special meeting, the court determines that notice of the special meeting was not given within 30 days after the date on which the demand was delivered to a corporate officer or that the special meeting was not held in accordance with the notice.
181.0160(2)
(2)
Notice. The court shall, in an order issued under this section, provide for a method of notice reasonably designed to give actual notice to all persons who would be entitled to notice of a meeting held under the articles of incorporation, the bylaws and this chapter, whether or not the method results in actual notice to all such persons or conforms to s.
181.0141. In a proceeding under this section the court may determine who the members, delegates or directors are.
181.0160(3)
(3)
Voting requirements. In an order issued under this section, the court may dispense with any requirement relating to the holding of or voting at meetings or to obtaining votes, including any quorum requirement or any requirement as to the number or percentage of votes needed for approval, that would otherwise be imposed by the articles of incorporation or bylaws or this chapter. The court may fix alternate quorum or voting requirements and enter other orders necessary to accomplish the purpose of the meeting.
181.0160(4)(a)(a) Whenever practical, any order issued under this section shall limit the subject matter of meetings or other forms of consent authorized to those items, including amendments to the articles of incorporation or bylaws, the resolution of which will or may enable the corporation to continue managing its affairs without further resort to this section.
181.0160(4)(b)
(b) Notwithstanding par.
(a), an order under this section may authorize the obtaining of whatever votes and approvals are necessary for dissolution, merger or the sale of assets.
181.0160(5)
(5)
Effect of meeting or ballot. Any meeting or other method of obtaining the vote of members, delegates or directors conducted under an order issued under this section and that complies with all of the provisions of the order is for all purposes a valid meeting or vote and shall have the same effect as if it complied with every requirement imposed by the articles of incorporation, the bylaws and this chapter.
181.0160 History
History: 1997 a. 79.
181.0162
181.0162
Relation to electronic signatures in global and national commerce act. This chapter modifies, limits, and supersedes the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act,
15 USC 7001 to
7031, but does not modify, limit, or supersede section 101 (c) of that act,
15 USC 7001 (c), or authorize electronic delivery of any of the notices described in section 103 (b) of that act,
15 USC 7003 (b).
181.0162 History
History: 2021 a. 258.
181.0163
181.0163
Forum selection provisions. The articles of incorporation or the bylaws may require, consistent with applicable jurisdictional requirements, that any or all claims pertaining to the internal affairs of the corporation be brought solely and exclusively in the courts in this state.
181.0163 History
History: 2021 a. 258.
formation;
articles of INCORPORATION
and other filings
181.0201
181.0201
Incorporators. One or more persons may act as the incorporator or incorporators of a corporation by delivering articles of incorporation to the department for filing.
181.0201 History
History: 1997 a. 79.
181.0202
181.0202
Articles of incorporation. 181.0202(1)(1)
Required content. The articles of incorporation shall include all of the following information:
181.0202(1)(a)
(a) A statement that the corporation is incorporated under this chapter.
181.0202(1)(c)
(c) The mailing address of the initial principal office of the corporation.
181.0202(1)(d)
(d) The street address of the corporation's initial registered office and the name and e-mail address of its initial registered agent at that office.
