(1) Upon the written request of any shareholder, a corporation shall deliver or make available to the requesting shareholder the corporation’s annual financial statements for the most recent fiscal year of the corporation. If annual financial statements have been prepared for the corporation on the basis of generally accepted accounting principles for such specified period, the corporation shall deliver or make available such financial statements to the requesting shareholder. If the annual financial statements to be delivered or made available to the requesting shareholder are audited or otherwise reported upon by a public accountant, the report of the public accountant shall also be delivered or made available to the requesting shareholder.

(2) A corporation required by subsection (1) to deliver or make available annual financial statements to a requesting shareholder shall deliver or make available such annual financial statements to such shareholder within 5 business days after the request if the annual financial statements have already been prepared and are available, or, if the annual financial statements have not been prepared, must notify the shareholder within 5 business days that the annual financial statements have not yet been prepared, and must deliver or make available such annual financial statements to the shareholder within 120 days after the request or within such additional time thereafter as is reasonably necessary to enable the corporation to prepare its annual financial statements if, for reasons beyond the corporation’s control, it is unable to prepare its annual financial statements within the prescribed period.

(3) If requested by the requesting shareholder in its written request under subsection (1), the corporation shall promptly notify all other shareholders that the annual financial statements that have or are to be delivered or made available to the requesting shareholder have been or are being made available to the requesting shareholder and will also be delivered or made available to any other shareholder who makes its own written request to the corporation under subsection (1).

(4) A corporation may fulfill its responsibilities under this section by delivering the specified annual financial statements, by posting the specified annual financial statements on its website, by any other generally recognized means, or in any other manner permitted by the applicable rules and regulations of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

(5) Notwithstanding subsections (1), (2), and (3):

(a) As a condition to delivering or making available annual financial statements to any requesting shareholder, the corporation may require the requesting shareholder to agree to reasonable restrictions on the confidentiality, use, and distribution of such annual financial statements; and

(b) The corporation may, if it reasonably determines that the shareholder’s request is not made in good faith or for a proper purpose, decline to deliver or make available such annual financial statements to that shareholder.

(6) If a corporation does not respond to a shareholder’s request for annual financial statements pursuant to this section in accordance with subsection (3) within the applicable period specified in subsection (2):

(a) The requesting shareholder may apply to the circuit court in the applicable county for an order requiring delivery of or access to the requested annual financial statements. The court shall dispose of an application under this subsection on an expedited basis.

(b) If the court orders delivery or access to the requested annual financial statements, it may impose reasonable restrictions on their confidentiality, use, or distribution.

(c) In such proceeding, if the corporation has declined to deliver or make available such annual financial statements because the shareholder had been unwilling to agree to restrictions proposed by the corporation on the confidentiality, use, and distribution of such financial statements, the corporation shall have the burden of demonstrating that the restrictions proposed by the corporation were reasonable.

(d) In such proceeding, if the corporation has declined to deliver or make available such annual financial statements pursuant to paragraph (5)(b), the corporation shall have the burden of demonstrating that it had reasonably determined that the shareholder’s request was not made in good faith or for a proper purpose.

(7) If the court orders delivery or access to the requested annual financial statements, it shall order the corporation to pay the shareholder’s expenses, including reasonable attorney fees, incurred to obtain such order unless the corporation establishes that it had refused delivery or access to the requested annual financial statements because the shareholder had refused to agree to reasonable restrictions on the confidentiality, use, or distribution of the annual financial statements or that the corporation had reasonably determined that the shareholder’s request was not made in good faith or for a proper purpose.

History.—s. 154, ch. 89-154; s. 45, ch. 97-102; s. 1, ch. 2009-118; s. 6, ch. 2009-205; s. 223, ch. 2019-90.