MBI filed its original articles of incorporation under the name Montana Public Employees Benefit Services Co., Inc. After filing the articles, the corporation entered a contract with the Montana Department of Administration.
Under the contract, the new corporation would have exclusive administrative control over Montana's public employee deferred-payment pension plan. The articles were not approved by the secretary of state, who requested a name change. After the corporation's name was changed to MBI, the charter was issued, and the corporation became a legal entity.
The Montana Association of Underwriters, a private corporation that wanted a share in administering the state pension plan, challenged the validity of the contract, arguing that at the time the contract was signed, MBI did not legally exist. Was the Montana Association of Underwriters correct? Explain.
Montana Association of Underwriters v. Department of Administration and MBI, 563 P.2d 577 (MT).