Montana § 45-2-311 Criminal Responsibility Of Corporations

Montana Statutes

§ 45-2-311 — Criminal Responsibility Of Corporations

Montana § 45-2-311

Title 45CRIMES

Ch. 2GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF LIABILITY

Part 3Liability for Acts Committed by or for Another

This text of Montana § 45-2-311 (Criminal Responsibility Of Corporations) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Montana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Mont. Code Ann. § 45-2-311 (2026).

Text

45-2-311 . Criminal responsibility of corporations.

(1)A corporation may be prosecuted for the commission of an offense only if:

(a)the offense is a misdemeanor, is defined by 45-5-204 , 45-6-315 , 45-6-317 , 45-6-318 , 45-6-326 , 45-8-113 , 45-8-114 , 45-8-212 , 45-8-214 , 82-1-201 , or 82-10-104 , or is defined by another statute that clearly indicates a legislative purpose to impose liability on a corporation and an agent of the corporation performs the conduct that is an element of the offense while acting within the scope of the agent's office or employment and in behalf of the corporation, except that any limitation in the defining statute concerning the corporation's accountability for certain agents or under certain circumstances is applicable; or

(b)the commission of the offens

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

45-2-311 . Criminal responsibility of corporations. (1) A corporation may be prosecuted for the commission of an offense only if:
(a) the offense is a misdemeanor, is defined by 45-5-204 , 45-6-315 , 45-6-317 , 45-6-318 , 45-6-326 , 45-8-113 , 45-8-114 , 45-8-212 , 45-8-214 , 82-1-201 , or 82-10-104 , or is defined by another statute that clearly indicates a legislative purpose to impose liability on a corporation and an agent of the corporation performs the conduct that is an element of the offense while acting within the scope of the agent's office or employment and in behalf of the corporation, except that any limitation in the defining statute concerning the corporation's accountability for certain agents or under certain circumstances is applicable; or
(b) the commission of the offense is authorized, requested, commanded, or performed by the board of directors or by a high managerial agent who is acting within the scope of that agent's employment in behalf of the corporation.
(2) A corporation's proof that the high managerial agent having supervisory responsibility over the conduct that is the subject matter of the offense exercised due diligence to prevent the commission of the offense is a defense to a prosecution for any offense to which subsection (1)(a) refers, other than an offense for which absolute liability is imposed. This subsection is inapplicable if the legislative purpose of the statute defining the offense is inconsistent with the provisions of this subsection.
(3) For the purposes of this section:
(a) "agent" means any director, officer, servant, employee, or other person who is authorized to act in behalf of the corporation;
(b) "high managerial agent" means an officer of the corporation or any other agent who has a position of comparable authority for the formulation of corporate policy or the supervision of subordinate employees in a managerial capacity.

Legislative History

En. 94-2-112 by Sec. 1, Ch. 513, L. 1973; R.C.M. 1947, 94-2-112 ; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 582, L. 1983; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 365, L. 1985; amd. Sec. 193, Ch. 42, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 400, L. 2009.