From the Golden Rain Foundation

Document Requests

As you know, Golden Rain Foundation (GRF) serves as the managing agent, under a Management Agreement for each of the 16 Mutuals comprising Leisure World, Seal Beach. In GRF’s role as managing agent, GRF takes direction from the Mutuals’ Boards for the operation and management of the Mutuals’ affairs. GRF under the Trust Agreement is charged with specific tasks, such as managing Trust Property amenities and acting as the property management company for the Mutuals. This synopsis will serve to clarify GRF’s duties and responsibilities as they pertain to document requests.

First, know that when GRF receives a request for records, such request is submitted to the appropriate Mutual, to the extent the request involves Mutual business. Remember, the GRF can only take action as directed by the Board of each Mutual and as provided by the Trust and Management Agreements. In other words, the GRF is merely the custodian of records for each Mutual and may only release Mutual records as authorized and directed by the Mutual Board. Accordingly, when GRF receives a request for records, it must submit the request to the Mutual for review and direction. Of course, if the request pertains to GRF records, rather than a Mutual, GRF will process the request directly.

It is also important to note that GRF must comply with the provisions of the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act, the Corporations Code and other applicable law. Under Civil Code Section 5205, an association is required to make certain records available for inspection and copying by a member.

A member is not entitled to access all documents and records. Instead, the access to records is limited in terms of both time and scope. The records to be made available are limited to the current fiscal year and previous two fiscal years. (Civil Code §5210(a)(1).) Further, a member is only entitled to review “association records” as defined in Civil Code section 5200. Association records are defined to include documents like interim financial statements (subsection (3)), executed contracts not privileged by law (subsection (4)), agendas and minutes of meetings (subsection (8)), and governing documents (subsection (11)).

In summary, GRF cannot unilaterally produce Mutual records, and must only act with the approval and direction from the Mutual Board.

—Jeff Beaumont, ESQ.