Louisiana § RS 12:1-1330 - Court action

§ RS 12:1-1330. Court action

A.  If a shareholder makes demand for payment under R.S. 12:1-1326 which remains unsettled, the corporation shall commence a summary proceeding within sixty days after receiving the payment demand and petition the court to determine the fair value of the shares and accrued interest.  If the corporation does not commence the proceeding within the sixty-day period, it shall pay in cash to each shareholder the amount the shareholder demanded pursuant to R.S. 12:1-1326, plus interest, within ten days after the expiration of the sixty-day period.

B.  The corporation shall commence the proceeding in the district court of the parish where the corporation's principal office or, if none, its registered office in this state is located.  If the corporation is a foreign corporation without a registered office in this state, it shall commence the proceeding in the parish in this state where the principal office or registered office of the domestic corporation merged with the foreign corporation was located at the time of the transaction.

C.  The corporation shall make all shareholders, whether or not residents of this state, whose demands remain unsettled parties to the proceeding, and all parties must be served with a copy of the petition.  Nonresidents may be served as provided by law.

D.  The jurisdiction of the court in which the proceeding is commenced under Subsection B of this Section is exclusive.  The court may appoint an appraiser to file a written report with the court on the question of fair value.  The appraiser shall have the powers described in the appointing order, or in any amendment to it.  The shareholders demanding appraisal rights are entitled to the same discovery rights as parties in other civil proceedings.  If the court appoints an appraiser, the appraiser's written report shall be treated as the report of an expert witness, and the corporation and shareholders demanding appraisal shall be entitled to depose and to examine and cross-examine the appraiser as an expert witness.

E.  Each shareholder made a party to the proceeding is entitled to judgment for either of the following:

(1)  The amount, if any, by which the court finds the fair value of the shareholder's shares, plus interest, exceeds the amount paid by the corporation to the shareholder for such shares.

(2)  The fair value, plus interest, of the shareholder's shares for which the corporation elected to withhold payment under R.S. 12:1-1325.

Acts 2014, No. 328, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2015.