Litigation Does Not Necessarily Vitiate Director's Absolute Right To Inspect

This space has previously discussed the question of just how absolute a director's "absolute" right of of inspection really is. See When Is A Director's Inspection Right Not Absolute? and Defining The Metes And Bounds Of A Director's Absolute Right To Inspect. Now, we have a new decision, Fowler v. Golden Pacific Bancorp, Inc., Cal. Ct. App. Case No. C092179 (June 23, 2022).

The case involved a director's demand for inspection that was made after the corporation had sued the director. When the corporation refused to permit inspection, the director tried to obtain substantially the same information through discovery in the ongoing litigation. After the corporation refused to produce the information and the director's motion to compel was denied, the director filed an action for peremptory writ of mandate to enforce his "absolute" right of inspection under Section 1602 of the California Corporations Code.