Wilcher v. International Environmental Technologies, Inc

In Wilcher v. International Environmental Technologies, Inc., 168 S.W.3d 58 (Ct. App. Ky. 2005), the Kentucky Court of Appeals affirmed the superior court's denial of an award of fees under a statute analogous to A.R.S. 10-1604(C). In that case, on May 23, the shareholder requested to examine certain records, the corporation and shareholder agreed to two production dates of May 28 and approximately a week later, and on June 6 the shareholder filed an action for an inspection. Wilcher, 168 S.W.3d at 59. The superior court found that the corporations involved had made a good faith effort to allow reasonable inspection of records within the time requested and that nothing showed an attempt not to disclose the records. Id. at 60. The court denied the request for a fee award, despite having issued an order directing production of certain documents the corporations had withheld because of privacy concerns. Id. at 59-60. The court of appeals affirmed, noting that the corporation had never refused the shareholder's right to inspect and copy records, but had acted in good faith to produce the records in a reasonable time; the court concluded that the shareholder had prematurely filed the action. Id. at 61.