Court-ordered inspection

Common Elements summary — Section 617.1604 lets a member who has been wrongfully denied inspection of corporate records sue the corporation in circuit court for an order compelling production. If the court finds the corporation refused inspection without a reasonable basis, it may order the corporation to pay the member's costs and reasonable attorneys' fees. For HOA and COA boards this is the statutory hammer behind the records-inspection right. The fee-shifting provision is the part that hurts: a $50 records dispute becomes a $25,000 attorneys'-fees award if the board stonewalls long enough to make the member file suit. The rule for boards: if a member's records request is at all colorable, produce. If you genuinely believe the request is improper, send a written declination that cites the specific narrowing provision (typically 617.1603) and offer to produce everything else. The combination of partial production plus a documented reason for the narrowing is what defeats a fee award.