58-65-155. Merger or consolidation, proceedings for.

Any two or more hospital and/or medical and/or dental service corporations organized under and/or subject to the provisions of this Article and Article 66 of this Chapter as determined by the Commissioner of Insurance may, as shall be specified in the agreement hereinafter required, be merged into one of such constituent corporations, herein designated as the surviving corporation, or may be consolidated into a new corporation to be formed by the means of such consolidation of the constituent corporations, which new corporation is herein designated as the resulting or consolidated corporation, and the directors and/or trustees, or a majority of them, of such corporations as desire to consolidate or merge, may enter into an agreement signed by them and under the corporate seals of the respective corporations, prescribing the terms and conditions of consolidation or merger, the mode of carrying the same into effect and stating such other facts as can be stated in the case of a consolidation or merger, stated in such altered form as the circumstances of the case require, and with such other details as to conversion of certificates of the subscribers as are deemed necessary and/or proper.

Said agreement shall be submitted to the certificate holders of each constituent corporation, at a separate meeting thereof, called for the purpose of taking the same into consideration; of the time, place and object of which meeting due notice shall be given by publication once a week for two consecutive weeks in some newspaper published in Raleigh, North Carolina, and in the counties in which the principal offices of the constituent corporations are located, and if no such paper is published in the county of the principal office of such constituent corporations, then said notice shall be posted at the courthouse door of said county or counties for a period of two weeks.

Said printed or posted notices shall be in such form and of such size as the Commissioner of Insurance may approve. A true copy of said notices shall be filed with the Commissioner of Insurance.

Such publication and filing of notices shall be completed at least 15 days prior to the date set therein for the meeting, and due proof thereof shall be filed with the Commissioner of Insurance at least 10 days prior to the date of such meeting.

At this meeting those present in person or represented by proxy shall constitute a quorum and said agreement shall be considered and voted upon by ballot in person or by proxy or both taken for the adoption or rejection of the same; and if the votes of two thirds of those at said meeting voting in person or by proxy shall be for the adoption of the said agreement, then that fact shall be certified on said agreement by the president and secretary of each such corporation, under the seal thereof.

The agreement so adopted and certified shall be signed by the president or vice-president and secretary or assistant secretary of each of such corporations under the corporate seals thereof and acknowledged by the president or vice-president of each such corporation before any officer authorized by the laws of this State to take acknowledgement of deeds to be the respective act, deed, and agreement of each of said corporations.

The said agreement shall be submitted to and approved by the Commissioner of Insurance, in advance of the merger or consolidation and his approval thereof shall be indicated by his signature being affixed thereto under the seal of his office.

The Commissioner shall not approve any such plans, unless, after a hearing, he finds that it is fair, equitable to certificate holders and members, consistent with law, and will not conflict with the public interest.

The agreement so certified and acknowledged with the approval of the Commissioner of Insurance noted thereon, shall be filed in the office of the Secretary of State, and shall thenceforth be taken and deemed to be the agreement and act of consolidation or merger of said corporations; and a copy of said agreement and act of consolidation or merger duly certified by the Secretary of State under the seal of his office shall also be recorded, in the office of the register of deeds of the county of this State in which the principal office of the surviving or consolidated corporation is, or is to be established, and in the office of the registers of deeds of the counties of this State in which the respective corporations so merging or consolidating shall have their original certificates of incorporation recorded, and also in the office of the register of deeds in each county in which either or any of the corporations entering into merger or consolidation owns any real estate; and such record, or a certified copy thereof, shall be evidence of the agreement and act of consolidation or merger of said corporations, and of the observance and performance of all acts and conditions necessary to have been observed and performed precedent to such consolidation or merger. When an agreement shall have been signed, authorized, adopted, acknowledged, approved, and filed and recorded as hereinabove set forth in this section, for all purposes of the laws of this State, the separate existence of all constituent corporations, parties to said agreement, or of all such constituent corporations, except the one into which the other or others of such constituent corporations have been merged, as the case may be, shall cease and the constituent corporations shall become a new corporation, or be merged into one of such corporations, as the case may be, in accordance with the provisions of said agreement, possessing all the rights, privileges, powers and franchises as well of a public as of a private nature, of each of said constituent corporations, and all and singular, the rights, privileges, powers and franchises of each of said corporations, and all property, real, personal and mixed, and all debts due to any of said constituent corporations on whatever account, shall be vested in the corporation resulting from or surviving such consolidation or merger, and all property, rights, privileges, powers, and franchises and all and every other interest shall be thereafter as effectually the property of the resulting or surviving corporation as they were of the several and respective constituent corporations, and the title to any real estate, whether vested by deed or otherwise, under the laws of this State, vested in any such constituent corporations shall not revert or be in any way impaired by reason of such consolidation or merger; provided, however, that all rights of creditors and all liens upon the property of either of or any of said constituent corporations shall be preserved, unimpaired, limited in lien to the property affected by such lien at the time of the merger or consolidation, and all debts, liabilities, and duties of the respective constituent corporations shall thenceforth attach to said resulting or surviving corporation, and may be enforced against it to the same extent as if said debts, liabilities, and duties had been incurred or contracted by it; and further provided that notice of any said liens, debts, liabilities, and duties is given in writing to the resulting or surviving corporation within six months after the date of the filing of the agreement of merger in the office of the Secretary of State. All such liens, debts, liabilities, and duties of which notice is not given as provided herein are forever barred. The certificate of incorporation of the surviving corporation shall be deemed to be amended to the extent, if any, that the changes in its certificates of incorporation are stated in the agreement of merger. All certificates theretofore issued and outstanding by each constituent corporation in good standing upon the date of the filing of such agreement with the Secretary of State without reissuance thereof by the resulting or surviving corporation shall be the contract and agreement of the resulting or surviving corporation with each of the certificate holders thereof and subject to all terms and conditions thereof and of the agreement of merger filed in the office of the Secretary of State.

Any action or proceeding pending by or against any of the corporations consolidated or merged may be prosecuted to judgment as if such consolidation or merger had not taken place, or the corporations resulting from or surviving such consolidation or merger may be substituted in its place.

The liability of such constituent corporations to the certificate holders thereof, and the rights or remedies of the creditors thereof, or persons doing or transacting business with such corporations, shall not, in any way, be lessened or impaired by the consolidation or merger of two or more of such corporations under the provisions of this section, except as provided in this section.

When two or more corporations are consolidated or merged, the corporation resulting from or surviving such consolidation or merger shall have the power and authority to continue any contracts which any of the constituent corporations might have elected to continue. All contracts entered into between any constituent corporations and any other persons shall be and become the contract of the resulting corporations according to the terms and conditions of said contract and the agreement of consolidation or merger.

For the filing of the agreement as hereinabove provided, the Secretary of State is entitled to receive such fees only as he would have received had a new corporation been formed.

Any agreement for merger and/or consolidation as shall conform to the provisions of this section, shall be binding and valid upon all the subscribers, certificate holders and/or members of such constituent corporations, provided only that any subscriber, certificate holder and/or member who shall so indicate his disapproval thereof to the resulting, consolidated or surviving corporation within 90 days after the filing of said agreement with the Secretary of State shall be entitled to receive all unearned portions of premiums paid on his certificate from and after the date of the receipt of the application therefor by the resulting, surviving, or consolidated corporation; each subscriber, certificate holder and/or member who shall not so indicate his or her disapproval of said agreement and said merger within said period of 90 days is deemed and presumed to have approved said agreement and said merger and/or consolidation and shall have waived his or her right to question the legality of said merger and/or consolidation.

No director, officer, subscriber, certificate holder and/or member as such of any such corporation, except as is expressly provided by the plan of merger or consolidation, shall receive any fee, commission, other compensation or valuable consideration whatever, for in any manner aiding, promoting or assisting in the merger or consolidation.