State nonprofit corporation laws generally provide that voting members of the corporation may see the “books and records” of the corporation for a proper corporate purpose.  But what is the scope of the books and records that the members can see?

Does an officer of a nonprofit corporation have a duty of obedience?  Can she be sued for usurping a corporate opportunity when she has created an affiliated corporation with a similar name and then “divorced” it from the parent to use for her own purposes?  Can she be sued for conversion for refusing to return corporate records belonging to the parent entity?

A federal District Court in Brooklyn has dismissed a putative class action claiming “fraud” in a CVS drug store fundraising campaign in which patrons were offered the opportunity to contribute to the American Diabetes Association at the checkout register.  It rejected the plaintiff’s claim that the failure of CVS to tell customers that it would make up the difference if the campaign fell short of its $10 million goal constituted a fraud on the public.

In an unusual case involving the donation of charitable contributions to a church, a divided 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has permitted a member of the Mormon Church to sue for allegedly false and misleading statements by the Church about its use of tithing money.