Civil Code Meetings
The Open Meeting Act
Chapter 6 · Association Governance · Board Meeting
Text current as of 2026-07-07 · Last amended by AB 805, eff. 2014-01-01
The code says CIV §4900
This article shall be known and may be cited as the Common Interest Development Open Meeting Act.
(Added by Stats. 2012, Ch. 180, Sec. 2. (AB 805) Effective January 1, 2013. Operative January 1, 2014, by Sec. 3 of Ch. 180.)
In plain English
Editorial summary — not the statute’s text.
Board business must generally happen in properly noticed meetings that members can attend — an association can’t govern in the shadows.
What this means for you
Editorial summary — not the statute’s text.
- Treat email chains that decide business as “meetings” — they’re restricted.
- Give members the notice and access the Act requires.
- Know the narrow exceptions before relying on them.
How courts have read this
Editorial summaries — not the court’s words.
- Artus v. Gramercy Towers Condo. Ass'n 19 Cal. App. 5th 923 · 2018 Winning a preliminary injunction doesn’t make you the prevailing party for fees.
mentioned in passing
- LNSU 1, LLC v. Alta Del Mar Coastal Collection Community Assn. 94 Cal. App. 5th 1050 · 2023 Pre-meeting director emails are not Open Meeting Act board meetings.
mentioned in passing
- Golden Eagle Land Inv., L.P. v. Rancho Santa Fe Ass'n 19 Cal. App. 5th 399 · 2018 Anti-SLAPP shields HOA board communications on land-use matters of public concern.
mentioned in passing
- Retzloff v. Moulton Parkway Residents' Ass'n 14 Cal. App. 5th 742 · 2017 A prevailing association recovers costs, not attorney fees, in records suits.
mentioned in passing
- Palm Springs Villas II Homeowners Ass'n v. Parth 248 Cal. App. 4th 268 · 2016 The business judgment rule protects only directors who stay reasonably informed.
mentioned in passing