Levy of assessment-Old assessment remaining unpaid. § 333. No assessment must be levied while any portion of a previous one remains unpaid, unless: 1. The power of the corporation has been exercised in accordance with the provisions of this article for the purpose of collecting such previous assessment; or, 2. The collection of the previous assessment has been enjoined ; 3. The assessment falls within the provisions of either the first, second, or third subdivision of section three hundred and thirty-two. Enacted March 21, 1872. 65 Cal. 195; VII Cal. App. Dec. 730. What order shall contain. § 334. Every order levying an assessment must specify the amount thereof, when, to whom, and where payable; fix a day, subsequent to the full term of publication of the assessment notice, on which the unpaid assessments shall be delinquent, not less than thirty nor more than sixty days from the time of making the order levying the assessment; and a day for the sale of delinquent stock, not less than fifteen nor more than sixty days from the day the stock is declared delinquent. Enacted March 21, 1872. 6 Cal. App. 358. Notice of assessment-Form. § 335. Upon the making of the order, the secretary shall cause to be published a notice thereof, in the following form: (Name of corporation in full. Location of principal place of business.) Notice is hereby given, that at a meeting of the directors, held on the (date), an assessment of (amount) per share was levied upon the capital stock of the corporation, payable (when, to whom, and where). Any stock upon which this assessment shall remain unpaid on the (day fixed) will be delinquent and advertised for sale at public auction, and, unless payment is made before, will be sold on the (day appointed), to pay the delinquent assessment, together with costs of advertising and expenses of sale. (Signature of secretary, with location of office.) Enacted March 21, 1872. 101 Cal. 81. Publication and service of notice. § 336. The notice must be personally served upon each stockholder, or, in lieu of personal service, must be sent through the mail, addressed to each stockholder at his place of residence, if known, and if not known, at the place where the principal office of the corporation is situated, and be published once a week, for four successive weeks, in some newspaper of general circulation and devoted to the publication of general news, published at the place designated in the articles of incorporation as the principal place of business, and also in some newspaper published in the county in which the works of the corporation are situated, if a paper be published therein. If the works of the corporation are not within a state or territory of the United States, publication in a paper of the place where they are situated is not necessary. If there be no newspaper published at the place designated as the principal place of business of the corporation, then the publication must be made in some other newspaper of the county, if there be one, and if there be none, then in a newspaper published in an adjoining county. Amended March 30, 1874; amendts. 1873-4, p. 206. VII Cal. App. Dec. 731. Delinquent notice-Form. § 337. If any portion of the assessment mentioned in the notice remains unpaid on the day specified therein for declaring the stock delinquent, the secretary must, unless otherwise ordered by the board of directors, cause to be published in the same papers in which the notice hereinbefore provided for shall have been published, a notice substantially in the following form: (Name in full. Location of principal place of business.) NOTICE. There is delinquent upon the following described stock, on account of assessment levied on the (date), (and assessments levied previous thereto, if any,) the several amounts set opposite the names of the respective shareholders, as follows: (Names, number of certificate, number of shares, amount.) And in accordance with law (and an order of the board of directors, made on the [date], if any such order shall have been made), so many shares of each parcel of such stock as may be necessary, will be sold, at the (particular place), on the (date), at (the hour) of such day, to pay delinquent assessments thereon, together with costs of advertising and expenses of the sale. (Name of secretary, with location of office.) Enacted March 21, 1872. 101 Cal. 76; 108 Cal. 493; 109 Cal. 8; VII Cal. App. Dec. 731. Contents of notice. § 338. The notice must specify every certificate of stock, the number of shares it represents, and the amount due thereon, except where certificates may not have been issued to parties entitled thereto, in which case the number of shares and amount due thereon, together with the fact that the certificates for such shares have not been issued, must be stated. Enacted March 21, 1872. 101 Cal. 76; 108 Cal. 568. How published. § 339. The notice, when published in a daily paper, must be published for ten days, excluding Sundays and holidays, previous to the day of sale. When published in a weekly paper, it must be published in each issue for two weeks previous to the day of sale. The first publication of all delinquent sales must be at least fifteen days prior to the day of sale. Enacted March 21, 1872. 101 Cal. 76; 108 Cal. 493; 129 Cal. 296; VII Cal. App. Dec. 731. Jurisdiction acquired, how. § 340. By the publication of the notice, the corporation acquires jurisdiction to sell and convey a perfect title to all of the stock described in the notice of sale upon which any portion of the assessment or costs of advertising remains unpaid at the hour appointed for the sale, but must sell no more of such stock than is necessary to pay the assessments due and costs of sale. Enacted March 21, 1872. 6 Cal. App. 281. Sale to be by public auction. § 341. On the day, at the place, and at the time appointed in the notice of sale, the secretary must, unless otherwise ordered by the directors, sell or cause to be sold at public auction, to the highest bidder for cash, so many shares of each parcel of the described stock as may be necessary to pay the assessment and charges thereon, according to the terms of sale; if payment is made before the time fixed for sale, the party paying is only required to pay the actual cost of advertising, in addition to the assessment. Enacted March 21, 1872. Highest bidder to be the purchaser. § 342. The person offering at such sale to pay the assessment and costs for the smallest number of shares or fraction of a share is the highest bidder, and the stock purchased must be transferred to him on the stock books of the corporation, on payment of the assessment and costs. Enacted March 21, 1872. In default of bidders, corporation may purchase. § 343. If, at the sale of stock, no bidder offers the amount of the assessments, and costs and charges due, the same may be bid in and purchased by the corporation, through the secretary, president, or any director thereof, at the amount of the assessments, costs, and charges due; and the amount of the assessments, costs, and charges must be credited as paid in full on the books of the corporation, and entry of the transfer of the stock to the corporation must be made on the books thereof. While the stock remains the property of the corporation, it is not assessable, nor must any dividends be declared thereon; but all assessments and dividends must be apportioned upon the stock held by the stockholders of the corporation. Enacted March 21, 1872. 57 Cal. 398. Disposition of stock purchased by corporation. § 344. All purchases of its own stock made by any corporation vest the legal title to the same in the corporation; and the stock so purchased is held subject to the control of the stockholders, who may make such disposition of the same as they deem fit, in accordance with the by-laws of the corporation or vote of a majority of all the remaining shares. Whenever any portion of the capital stock of a corporation is held by the corporation by purchase, a majority of the remaining shares is a majority of the stock for all purposes of election or voting on any question at a stockholders' meeting. Enacted March 21, 1872. 57 Cal. 398; 72 Cal. 33; 109 Cal. 588. Extension of time of delinquent sale. § 345. The dates fixed in any notice of assessment or notice of delinquent sale, published according to the provisions hereof, may be extended from time to time for not more than thirty days, by order of the directors, entered on the records of the corporation; but no order extending the time for the performance of any act specified in any notice is effectual unless notice of such extension or postponement is appended to and published with the notice to which the order relates. Enacted March 21, 1872. 4 Cal. App. 508. Assessment shall not be invalidated. § 346. No assessment is invalidated by a failure to make publication of the notices hereinbefore provided for, nor by the non-performance of any act required in order to enforce the payment of the same; but in case of any substantial error or omission in the course of proceedings for collection, all previous proceedings, except the levying of the assessment, are void, and publication must be begun anew. Enacted March 21, 1872. 76 Cal. 28; 108 Cal. 495; 109 Cal. 8; VII Cal. App. Dec. 731. Action for recovery of stock, and limitation thereof. § 347. No action must be sustained to recover stock sold for delinquent assessments, upon the ground of irregularity in the assessment, irregularity or defect of the notice of sale, or defect or irregularity in the sale, unless the party seeking to maintain such action first pays or tenders to the corporation, or the party holding the stock sold, the sum for which the same was sold, together with all subsequent assessments which may have been paid thereon and interest on such sums from the time they were paid; and no such action must be sustained unless the same is commenced by the filing of a complaint and the issuing of a summons thereon within six months after such sale was made. Enacted March 21, 1872. 76 Cal. 28; 133 Cal. 66; 153 Cal. 282. |