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Florida Statute 617.0302 - Full Text and Legal Analysis
Florida Statute 617.0302 | Lawyer Caselaw & Research
Link to State of Florida Official Statute
F.S. 617.0302 Case Law from Google Scholar Google Search for Amendments to 617.0302

The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title XXXVI
BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS
Chapter 617
CORPORATIONS NOT FOR PROFIT
View Entire Chapter
617.0302 Corporate powers.Every corporation not for profit organized under this chapter, unless otherwise provided in its articles of incorporation or bylaws, shall have power to:
(1) Have succession by its corporate name for the period set forth in its articles of incorporation.
(2) Sue and be sued and appear and defend in all actions and proceedings in its corporate name to the same extent as a natural person.
(3) Adopt, use, and alter a common corporate seal. However, such seal must always contain the words “corporation not for profit.”
(4) Elect or appoint such officers and agents as its affairs shall require and allow them reasonable compensation.
(5) Adopt, change, amend, and repeal bylaws, not inconsistent with law or its articles of incorporation, for the administration of the affairs of the corporation and the exercise of its corporate powers.
(6) Increase, by a vote of its members cast as the bylaws may direct, the number of its directors so that the number shall not be less than three but may be any number in excess thereof.
(7) Make contracts and guaranties, incur liabilities, borrow money at such rates of interest as the corporation may determine, issue its notes, bonds, and other obligations, and secure its obligations by mortgage and pledge of all or any of its property, franchises, or income.
(8) Conduct its affairs, carry on its operations, and have offices and exercise the powers granted by this act in any state, territory, district, or possession of the United States or any foreign country.
(9) Purchase, take, receive, lease, take by gift, devise, or bequest, or otherwise acquire, own, hold, improve, use, or otherwise deal in and with real or personal property, or any interest therein, wherever situated.
(10) Acquire, enjoy, utilize, and dispose of patents, copyrights, and trademarks and any licenses and other rights or interests thereunder or therein.
(11) Sell, convey, mortgage, pledge, lease, exchange, transfer, or otherwise dispose of all or any part of its property and assets.
(12) Purchase, take, receive, subscribe for, or otherwise acquire, own, hold, vote, use, employ, sell, mortgage, lend, pledge, or otherwise dispose of and otherwise use and deal in and with, shares and other interests in, or obligations of, other domestic or foreign corporations, whether for profit or not for profit, associations, partnerships, or individuals, or direct or indirect obligations of the United States, or of any other government, state, territory, governmental district, municipality, or of any instrumentality thereof.
(13) Lend money for its corporate purposes, invest and reinvest its funds, and take and hold real and personal property as security for the payment of funds loaned or invested except as prohibited by s. 617.0833.
(14) Make donations for the public welfare or for religious, charitable, scientific, educational, or other similar purposes.
(15) Have and exercise all powers necessary or convenient to effect any or all of the purposes for which the corporation is organized.
(16) Merge with other corporations or other eligible entities identified in s. 607.1101, both for profit and not for profit, domestic and foreign, if the surviving corporation or other surviving eligible entity is a corporation not for profit or other eligible entity that has been organized as a not-for-profit entity under a governing statute or other applicable law that permits such a merger.
History.s. 24, ch. 90-179; s. 14, ch. 2005-267; s. 12, ch. 2009-205; s. 271, ch. 2019-90.

F.S. 617.0302 on Google Scholar

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Amendments to 617.0302


Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 617.0302

Total Results: 6  |  Sort by: Relevance  |  Newest First

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Fritsch v. Rocky Bayou Country Club, Inc., 799 So. 2d 433 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001).

Cited 2 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 2001 WL 1439881

...Addressing, first, whether Appellee is immune from Appellant's claim, we conclude it is not. After a review of the applicable statutes, we conclude that Appellee, as a not-for-profit corporation, is subject to suit "in its corporate name to the same extent as a natural person." § 617.0302(2), Fla....
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Florida Virtual Sch., etc. v. K12, Inc., 148 So. 3d 97 (Fla. 2014).

Cited 1 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 39 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 569, 2014 WL 4638694, 2014 Fla. LEXIS 2823

...has the same powers as an individual to do all things necessary or convenient to carry out its business and affairs, including without limitation power: (1) To sue and be sued, complain, and defend in its corporate name.”). This power is also granted to non- profit corporations. See § 617.0302, Fla....
...is to file legal actions. See generally First Nat. Bank of Gainesville v. Bd. of Pub. Instruction for Lafayette Cnty., 111 So. 521, 524 (Fla. 1927) (“The capacity of suit is one of the essential and ordinary incidents to a corporation.”); see also §§ 607.0302(1), 617.0302(2), Fla....
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Legal Envir. Assistance v. Dep, 702 So. 2d 1352 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997).

Cited 1 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal

...ct business in Florida is, insofar as pertinent here, to have "the same but no greater rights and ... the same but no greater privileges as ... a domestic corporation of like character." § 617.1505(2), Fla. Stat. (1995). Explicitly among the rights section 617.0302, Florida Statutes (1995), confers on Florida corporations not for profit is the right to "sue and be sued and appear" as if they were natural persons....
...Every corporation not for profit organized under this act, unless otherwise provided in its articles of incorporation or bylaws, shall have power to: .... (2) Sue and be sued and appear and defend in all actions and proceedings in its *1354 corporate name to the same extent as a natural person. § 617.0302, Fla....
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Florida Virtualschool v. K12, Inc., 773 F.3d 233 (11th Cir. 2014).

Published | Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | 2014 WL 6436644

...has the same powers as an individual to do all things necessary or convenient to carry out its business and affairs, including without limitation power: (1) To sue and be sued, complain, and defend in its corporate name."). This power is also granted to non- profit corporations. § 617.0302, Fla....
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Univ. of Florida Bd. of Trs. v. Morris, 975 So. 2d 493 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007).

Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2007 Fla. App. LEXIS 11512

idea that warrants very close scrutiny. . See § 617.0302(2), Fla. Stat. (2006); Fritsch v. Rocky Bayou
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Univ. Of Fla. Bd. of Trs. v. Morris, 975 So. 2d 493 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007).

Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal

...Although we recognize this as an additional presence in the community through which UFBOT transacts its customary business, we conclude that the presence UFBOT achieves through its contract with Winter Haven Hospital alone is sufficient to meet the statutory venue requirements. [3] See § 617.0302(2), Fla....

This Florida statute resource is curated by Graham W. Syfert, Esq., a Jacksonville, Florida personal injury and workers' compensation attorney. For legal consultation, call 904-383-7448.