Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
If in the California Secretary of State website a corporation is listed as having an address in North Carolina and having a jurisdiction of New York, then what limitations if any does that impose on that company in pursuing business within California?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Foreign corporations are required to register with the California Secretary of State and pay a tax/ fee every year if they conduct intrastate business. If they fail to pay the tax/ fee, they are suspended, and cannot maintain a lawsuit here based on intrastate business.
Mr. Roach is correct but the same is true of California domestic corporations if they fail to pay their franchise fees and taxes. It the company is registered, which they must be if you found them on the SoS website, and they pay their annual fees, they have absolutely the same rights as a California corporation when doing business in California.