Part 2. Reports.
§ 55‑16‑20.  Financial statements for shareholders.
(a)	Upon the written request of a shareholder, a corporation shall deliver, or make available to the requesting shareholder by posting on its website or by other generally recognized means, annual financial statements for the most recent fiscal year of the corporation for which annual financial statements have been prepared for the corporation. If financial statements have been prepared for the corporation on the basis of generally accepted accounting principles for the specified period, the corporation shall deliver or make available those 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 shall also be delivered or made available to the requesting shareholder.
(b)	A corporation shall deliver, or make available and provide written notice of availability of, the financial statements required under subsection (a) of this section to the requesting shareholder within five business days of delivery of the written request to the corporation.
(c)	A corporation may fulfill its responsibilities under this section by delivering the specified financial statements, or otherwise making them available, in any manner permitted by the applicable regulations of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
(d)	Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a) and (b) of this section, the following apply:
(1)	As a condition to delivering or making available financial statements to a requesting shareholder, the corporation may require the requesting shareholder to agree to reasonable restrictions on the confidentiality, use, and distribution of the financial statements.
(2)	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 the financial statements to that shareholder.
(e)	If a corporation does not respond to a shareholder's request for annual financial statements pursuant to this section in accordance with subsection (b) of this section within five business days of delivery of the request to the corporation, the following apply:
(1)	The requesting shareholder may apply to the superior court of the county where the corporation's principal office, or if none in this State, its registered office, is located for an order requiring delivery of or access to the requested financial statements. The court shall dispose of an application under this subsection on an expedited basis.
(2)	If the court orders delivery or access to the requested financial statements, it may impose reasonable restrictions on their confidentiality, use, or distribution.
(3)	In a proceeding under this subsection, if the corporation has declined to deliver or make available the financial statements because the shareholder had been unwilling to agree to restrictions proposed by the corporation on the confidentiality, use, and distribution of the financial statements, the corporation has the burden of demonstrating that the restrictions proposed by the corporation were reasonable.
(4)	In a proceeding under this subsection, if the corporation has declined to deliver or make available the financial statements pursuant to subdivision (d)(2) of this section, the corporation has 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.
(5)	If the court orders delivery or access to the requested financial statements, it shall order the corporation to pay the shareholder's costs, including reasonable attorneys' fees, incurred to obtain the court order, unless the corporation establishes that it had refused delivery or access to the requested financial statements because the shareholder had refused to agree to reasonable restrictions on the confidentiality, use, or distribution of the 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.  (1901, c. 2, ss. 38, 45, 49; Rev., ss. 1179‑1181; C.S., ss. 1170, 1172; G.S., ss. 55‑107, 55‑109; 1955, c. 1371, s. 1; 1965, c. 609; 1973, c. 469, s. 11; 1989, c. 265, s. 1; 2021‑106, s. 6(f).)