A limited liability company may sue and be sued, do necessary or convenient acts for its business, and make certain loans, guarantees, and financial assistance if approved and conditioned as stated. Before it has had at least one member, it can only do a few listed acts, and it cannot act as a bank.
§ Subdivision 1.Powers generally. Except as provided in subdivision 2, a limited liability company has the capacity to sue and be sued in its own name and the power to do all things necessary or convenient to carry on its activities. § Subd. 1a.Loans, guarantees, and suretyship. Without in any way limiting the generality of the power of a limited liability company to do all things necessary or convenient to carry on its activities as conferred in subdivision 1, a limited liability company may lend money to, guarantee an obligation of, become a surety for, or otherwise financially assist a person, if the transaction, or a class of transactions to which the transaction belongs, is approved pursuant to this chapter and the company's operating agreement and: (1) is in the usual and regular course of business of the limited liability company; (2) is with, or for the benefit of, a related organization, an organization in which the limited liability company has a financial interest, an organization with which the limited liability company has a business relationship, or an organization to which the limited liability company has the power to make donations, any of which relationships constitute consideration sufficient to make the loan, guarantee, suretyship, or other financial assistance so approved enforceable against the limited liability company; (3) is with, or for the benefit of, a member who provides services to the limited liability company, or a manager or other employee of the limited liability company or a subsidiary, including a member, manager, or employee who is a governor of the limited liability company or a subsidiary, and may reasonably be expected, in the judgment of the board of governors, to benefit the limited liability company; or (4) whether or not any separate consideration has been paid or promised to the limited liability company, has been approved by (i) the owners of two-thirds of the voting power of persons other than the interested person or persons, or (ii) the unanimous affirmative vote of all members, whether or not ordinarily entitled to vote. Any such loan, guarantee, suretyship, or other financial assistance may be with or without interest and may be unsecured or may be secured in any manner including, without limitation, a grant of a security interest in a member's transferable interest in the limited liability company. This subdivision does not grant any authority to act as a bank or to carry on the business of banking. § Subd. 2.Shelf LLC. Until a limited liability company has or has had at least one member, the company lacks the capacity to do any act or carry on any activity except: (1) delivering to the secretary of state for filing a statement of change under section 322C.0114, an amendment to the articles of organization under section 322C.0202, a statement of correction under section 322C.0206, an annual report under section 322C.0208, and a statement of termination under section 322C.0702; (2) admitting a member under section 322C.0401; and (3) dissolving under section 322C.0701. § Subd. 3.Ratification. A limited liability company that has or has had at least one member may ratify an act or activity that occurred when the company lacked capacity under subdivision 2.