AI-assisted research summary: This section defines several terms used in this part of the law, including cooperative, director, officer, disinterested director, expenses, liability, official capacity, party, and proceeding.
As used in this part, unless the context otherwise requires: 1. “Cooperative” includes any domestic or foreign predecessor entity of a cooperative in a merger. 2. “Director” or “officer” means an individual who is or was a director or officer, respectively, of a cooperative who, while a director or officer of the cooperative, is or was serving at the cooperative’s request as a director, officer, partner, trustee, employee, or agent of another domestic or foreign cooperative, corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan, or other entity. A director or officer is considered to be serving an employee benefit plan at the cooperative’s request if the director’s or officer’s duties to the cooperative also impose duties on, or otherwise involve services by, that director or officer to the plan or to participants in or beneficiaries of the plan. “Director” or “officer” includes, unless the context requires otherwise, the estate or personal representative of a director or officer. 3. “Disinterested director” means a director who at the time of a vote referred to in section 501.414, subsection 3, or a vote or selection referred to in section 501.416, subsection 2 or 3, is not either of the following: a. A party to the proceeding. b. An individual having a familial, financial, professional, or employment relationship with the director whose indemnification or advance for expenses is the subject of the decision being made, which relationship would in the circumstances, reasonably be expected to exert an influence on the director’s judgment when voting on the decision being made. 4. “Expenses” includes counsel fees. 5. “Liability” means the obligation to pay a judgment, settlement, penalty, fine, including an excise tax assessed with respect to an employee benefit plan, or reasonable expenses incurred with respect to a proceeding. 6. “Official capacity” means: a. When used with respect to a director, the office of director in a cooperative. b. When used with respect to an officer, as contemplated in section 501.417, the office in a cooperative held by the officer. “Official capacity” does not include service for any other domestic or foreign cooperative or any corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan, or other entity. 7. “Party” means an individual who was, is, or is threatened to be made a defendant or respondent in a proceeding. 8. “Proceeding” means any threatened, pending, or completed action, suit, or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative, or investigative and whether formal or informal. 98 Acts, ch 1152, §20, 69; 2003 Acts, ch 66, §16 Referred to in §501.407