Corporate Shareholder Complaints

The Attorney General has authority under Corporations Code section 1508 to intervene on behalf of shareholders in a corporation who are denied certain specified legal rights. These complaints include, for example, failure to:

• Allow shareholders to vote
• Hold an annual meeting of shareholders
• Permit a shareholder to inspect records after a written demand
• Provide an annual report to shareholders

Other complaints may involve civil disputes in which the Attorney General has no statutory authority to intervene. You may wish to contact a private attorney if your complaint involves the following:

• Request for an interpretation or legal advice on the corporate governance;
• A billing dispute or monetary claim you may have against the corporation.

After reviewing a complaint and if appropriate, we may send a "Notice of Complaint" letter with a copy of the submitted complaint to the corporation. We request that the corporation responds to both our office and the complainant within 30 days. Many times our "Notice of Complaint" will be sufficient to prompt a response from the board of directors. However, you may wish to discuss your problem with your own private attorney.

To file a complaint by regular mail or email, use the complaint form available on this website.