Q “I have requested to see financial statements, general detail ledger reports and the current cooperative budget. The board and its attorney claim that I have no right to see these documents. Are they correct?”

—Fiscally Concerned

A “Yes, the attorney and board are correct,” says attorney Thomas E. Kass, a partner at the Manhattan-based law firm of Kantor, Davidoff, Mandelker, Twomey, Gallanty & Olenick, P.C.

“Section 624(e) of the Business Corporation Law, which applies to cooperative corporations requires upon a shareholder's request, only the production of annual balance sheets and profit and loss statements for the preceding fiscal year. A shareholder is also entitled to see a corporation's interim balance sheets and interim profit and loss statements if they have been distributed to the shareholders or otherwise made available to the public.

“Should a shareholder wish access to additional financial information, he may be able to gain it by petitioning the appropriate court for such relief. Courts, on a case by case basis, have allowed such access where the shareholder sought it in good faith and for purposes consistent with his interest as a shareholder monitoringhis or her investment in the corporation.”