10-32.1-84. Foreign limited liability company - Effect of failure to have a certificate of authority

10-32.1-84. Foreign limited liability company - Effect of failure to have a certificate of authority. 1. A foreign limited liability company transacting business in this state may not maintain an action or proceeding in this state unless it has a certificate of authority to transact business in this state. 2. The failure of a foreign limited liability company to have a certificate of authority to transact business in this state does not impair the validity of a contract or act of the company or prevent the company from defending an action or proceeding in this state. 3. A member, manager, or governor of a foreign limited liability company is not liable for the debts, obligations, or other liabilities of the company solely because the company transacted business in this state without a certificate of authority. 4. If a foreign limited liability company transacts business in this state without a certificate of authority or cancels its certificate of authority, then it appoints the secretary of state as its agent for service of process for rights of action arising out of the transaction of business in this state. 5. A foreign limited liability company that transacts business in this state without a valid certificate of authority is subject to a civil penalty, payable to the state, not to exceed five thousand dollars. Each governor or, in the absence of governors, each member or agent who authorizes, directs, or participates in the transaction of business in this state on behalf of a foreign limited liability company that does not have a certificate is subject to a civil penalty, payable to the state, not to exceed one thousand dollars. 6. The civil penalties set forth in subsection 5 may be recovered in an action brought within the district court of Burleigh County by the attorney general. Upon a finding by the court that a foreign limited liability company or any of its members, governors, or agents have transacted business in this state in violation of this chapter, the court shall issue, in addition to the imposition of a civil penalty, an injunction restraining the further transaction of the business of the foreign limited liability company and the further exercise of the rights and privileges of the foreign limited liability company in this state. The foreign limited liability company must be enjoined from transacting business in this state until all civil penalties plus any interest and court costs that the court may assess have been paid and until the foreign limited liability company has otherwise complied with the provisions of this chapter.