Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

In order to sue or be sued, the corporation must be active (not suspended) and it must be represented by a licensed California attorney.

Yes, it must be registered and active.

No. The posts from the two previous attorneys are erroneous. A foreign corporation can sue here. Foreign corporations are prohibited from transacting intrastate business without obtaining a "certificate of qualification" from the California Secretary of State. Corporations Code section 2203 subd. (c) only bars a foreign corporation from "maintaining" an action based on intrastate business transacted in California. (United Med. Management Ltd. v. Gatto (1996) 49 Cal.App.4th 1732, 1739.)

Mr. Stone is correct, in that a corporation, regardless of whether it is foreign or a California corporation, must be represented in the litigation by a licensed attorney.

If a foreign corporation was suing over a non-intrastate matter, there would be no restriction on the lawsuit. If the foreign corporation was suing over an intrastate matter, in which it had done business, then the foreign corporation could file a lawsuit, but the defendant could assert a plea in abatement, raising the fact that they were not qualified. Theaction would only be "abated" until the corporation qualified, not dismissed.