{"data":{"id":"us-ca/civ-5235","jurisdiction":"us-ca","citation":"CIV § 5235","heading":"","body":"(a) A member may bring an action to enforce that member’s right to inspect and copy the association records. If a court finds that the association unreasonably withheld access to the association records, the court shall award the member reasonable costs and expenses, including reasonable attorney’s fees, and may assess a civil penalty of up to five hundred dollars ($500) for the denial of each separate written request.\n(b) A cause of action under this section may be brought in small claims court if the amount of the demand does not exceed the jurisdiction of that court.\n(c) A prevailing association may recover any costs if the court finds the action to be frivolous, unreasonable, or without foundation.","path":["Civil Code - CIV","DIVISION 4. GENERAL PROVISIONS [3274. - 9566.]","PART 5. Common Interest Developments [4000. - 6150.]","CHAPTER 6. Association Governance [4800. - 5450.]","ARTICLE 5. Record Inspection [5200. - 5240.]"],"source_url":"https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zip","current_through":"2026-09-13","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T05:56:33Z","sha256":"d38f245c63419845dd2f0cd95cddfc578ded6808e75a0006a67d824e460a0da1","source_id":"us-ca","stale":false,"prev":"us-ca/civ-5230","next":"us-ca/civ-5240"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}