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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 1629e. Settlement Trust option
(a) Conveyance of corporate assets
(1)(A) A Native Corporation may convey assets (including stock or
beneficial interests therein) to a Settlement Trust in accordance
with the laws of the State (except to the extent that such laws are
inconsistent with this section and section 1629b of this title).
(B) The approval of the shareholders of the corporation in the
form of a resolution shall be required to convey all or
substantially all of the assets of the corporation to a Settlement
Trust. A conveyance in violation of this clause shall be void ab
initio and shall not be given effect by any court.
(2) No subsurface estate in land shall be conveyed to a
Settlement Trust. A conveyance of title to, or any other interest
in, subsurface estate in violation of this subparagraph shall be
void ab initio and shall not be given effect by any court.
(3) Conveyances made pursuant to this subsection -
(A) shall be subject to applicable laws respecting fraudulent
conveyance and creditors rights; and
(B) shall give rise to dissenters rights to the extent provided
under the laws of the State only if -
(i) the rights of beneficiaries in the Settlement Trust
receiving a conveyance are inalienable; and
(ii) a shareholder vote on such transfer is required by
(a)(4) (!1) of section 1629b of this title.
(4) The provisions of this subsection shall not prohibit a Native
Corporation from engaging in any conveyance, reorganization, or
transaction not otherwise prohibited under the laws of the State or
the United States.
(b) Authority and limitations of a Settlement Trust
(1) The purpose of a Settlement Trust shall be to promote the
health, education, and welfare of its beneficiaries and preserve
the heritage and culture of Natives. A Settlement Trust shall not -
(A) operate as a business;
(B) alienate land or any interest in land received from the
settlor Native Corporation (except if the recipient of the land
is the settlor corporation or the land is conveyed for a homesite
by the Trust to a beneficiary of the Trust who is also a legal
resident under Alaska law of the Native village of the settlor
corporation and the conveyance does not exceed 1.5 acres); or
(C) discriminate in favor of a group of individuals composed
only or principally of employees, officers, or directors of the
settlor Native Corporation.
An alienation of land or an interest in land in violation of this
paragraph shall be void ab initio and shall not be given effect by
any court.
(2) A Native Corporation that has established a Settlement Trust
shall have exclusive authority to -
(A) appoint the trustees of the trust, and
(B) remove the trustees of the trust for cause.
Only a natural person shall be appointed a trustee of a Settlement
Trust. An appointment or removal of a trustee in violation of this
paragraph shall be void ab initio and shall not be given effect by
any court.
(3) A Native Corporation that has established a Settlement Trust
may expand the class of beneficiaries to include holders of
Settlement Common Stock issued after the establishment of the trust
without compensation to the original beneficiaries.
(4) A Settlement Trust shall not be held to violate any laws
against perpetuities.
(c) Savings
(1) The provisions of this chapter shall continue to apply to any
land or interest in land received from the Federal Government
pursuant to this chapter and later conveyed to a Settlement Trust
as if the land or interest in land were still held by the Native
Corporation that conveyed the land or interest in land.
(2) No timber resources subject to section 1606(i) of this title
conveyed to a Settlement Trust shall be sold, exchanged, or
otherwise conveyed except as necessary to -
(A) dispose of diseased or dying timber or to prevent the
spread of disease or insect infestation;
(B) prevent or suppress fire; or
(C) ensure public safety.
The revenue, if any, from such timber harvests shall be subject to
section 1606(i) of this title as if such conveyance had not
occurred.
(3) The conveyance of assets (including stock or beneficial
interests) pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall not
affect the applicability or enforcement (including specific
performance) of a valid contract, judgment, lien, or other
obligation (including an obligation arising under section 1606(i)
of this title) to which such assets, stock, or beneficial interests
were subject immediately prior to such conveyance.
(4) A claim based upon paragraph (1), (2), or (3) shall be
enforceable against the transferee Settlement Trust holding the
land, interest in land, or other assets (including stock or
beneficial interests) in question to the same extent as such claim
would have been enforceable against the transferor Native
Corporation, and valid obligations arising under section 1606(i) of
this title as well as claims with respect to a conveyance in
violation of a valid contract, judgment, lien, or other obligation
shall also be enforceable against the transferor corporation.
(5) Except as provided in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4), once
a Native Corporation has made, pursuant to subsection (a) of this
section, a conveyance to a Settlement Trust that does not -
(A) render it -
(i) unable to satisfy claims based upon paragraph (1), (2),
or (3); or
(ii) insolvent; or
(B) occur when the Native Corporation is insolvent;
the assets so conveyed to the Settlement Trust shall not be subject
to attachment, distraint, or sale on execution of judgment or other
process or order of any court, except with respect to the lawful
debts or obligations of the Settlement Trust.
(6) No transferee Settlement Trust shall make a distribution or
conveyance of assets (including cash, stock, or beneficial
interests) that would render it unable to satisfy a claim made
pursuant to paragraph (1), (2), or (3). A distribution or
conveyance made in violation of this paragraph shall be void ab
initio and shall not be given effect by any court.
(7) Except where otherwise expressly provided, no provision of
this section shall be construed to require shareholder approval of
an action where shareholder approval would not be required under
the laws of the State.
(8) A beneficiary's interest in a settlement trust and the
distributions thereon shall be subject to creditor action
(including without limitation, levy attachment, pledge, lien,
judgment execution, assignment, and the insolvency and bankruptcy
laws) only to the extent that Settlement Common Stock and the
distributions thereon are subject to such creditor action under
section 1606(h) of this title.
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