Cal. Codes » Corporations Code / TITLE 3. UNINCORPORATED ASSOCIATIONS / PART 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS / CHAPTER 1. Definitions
California Codes

Cal. Corporations Code § 18035 (2026)

✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section CA-LEGleginfo.legislature.ca.gov JustiaCode on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

(a)“Unincorporated association” means an unincorporated group of two or more persons joined by mutual consent for a common lawful purpose, whether organized for profit or not.

(b)Joint tenancy, tenancy in common, community property, or other form or property tenure does not by itself establish an unincorporated association, even if coowners share ownership of the property for a common purpose.

(c)Marriage or creation of a registered domestic partnership does not by itself establish an unincorporated association.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 14 cases (7 in the last 5 years), 2007–2025 · leading case: People Ex Rel. Reisig v. Acuna, 9 Cal. App. 5th 1 (Cal. Ct. App. 2017).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
People Ex Rel. Reisig v. Acuna, 9 Cal. App. 5th 1 (Cal. Ct. App. 2017). · cites it 2× “) Plaintiff filed the operative amended complaint in July 2007, seeking an injunction against Broderick Boys (with “also known as” identities) and 23 individuals.”
People ex rel. Reisig v. Broderick Boys, 2007 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 4397 (Cal. Ct. App. 2007). · cites it 2× “) However, the injunction cannot stand because, under the facts of this case the district attorney failed to show that the Broderick Boys is an unincorporated association for the purpose of service (Corp. Code, §§ 18035, subd. (a), 18220) and, in any event, the district attorney…”
Heiman v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd., 72 Cal. Comp. Cases 314 (Cal. Ct. App. 2007). “, which was enacted in 2004 and addresses associations that are unincorporated (Corp. Code, § 18035, subd. (a)) or nonprofit (Corp.”
United States v. Mongol Nation, 56 F.4th 1244 (9th Cir. 2023). “C § 1961(3); (2) under California law, unincorporated associations, like Mongol Nation, can own property, but only if the association exists for a “lawful purpose,” Cal. Corp. Code §§ 18035 (a), 18105; and (3) the indictment expressly alleged that Mongol Nation exists…”
People v. Townsend Street Gang CA4/3 (Cal. Ct. App. 2022). · cites it 4× “However, the statutory definition of an unincorporated association [in] Corporations Code section 18035 . . . unambiguously excludes criminal organizations by making a ‘common lawful purpose’ an element of the definition.”
P. ex rel. Reisig v. Acuna (Cal. Ct. App. 2017). · cites it 3× “Code, § 18220), because the gang had no “lawful purpose” (Corp. Code, § 18035); and (3) even if the gang were an unincorporated association, service of the complaint on only one member of unknown rank was insufficient.”
Vosburg v. Cnty. of Fresno (Cal. Ct. App. 2020). “” (Corp. Code, § 18035, subd. (a).) “ ‘Governing document’ means a constitution, articles of association, bylaws, or other writing that governs the purpose or operation of an unincorporated association or the rights or obligations of its members.”
California Serv. Employees Health & Welfare Trust Fund v. Greenbox Servs. LLC (N.D. Cal. 2021). “Cal. Corp. Code § 18035 (a). 11 A plaintiff may serve an unincorporated association by delivering a copy of the summons and the 12 complaint to “the person designated as agent for service of process in a statement filed with the 13 Secretary of State.”
Commodity Futures Trading Comm'n v. Ooki DAO (N.D. Cal. 2022). “” Cal. Corp. Code § 18035 (a). “The criteria applied to determine whether an entity is 27 an unincorporated association are no more complicated than (1) a group whose members share a 1 fairness requires the group be recognized as a legal entity.”
Gee v. Nat'l Collegiate Athletic Assocation CA2/8 (Cal. Ct. App. 2024). “(Corp. Code, §§ 18035, 18008, 18010.) It can define the term “member” as it wishes.”
Gee v. Nat'l Collegiate Athletic Assocation (Cal. Ct. App. 2025). “(Corp. Code, §§ 18035, 18008, 18010.) It can define the term “member” as it wishes.”
Jane Roe LB 61 v. DOE 1 (C.D. Cal. 2025). “”23 Roe also describes other 10 functions of the stake, including “overseeing church programs, helping 11 members, and counseling, overseeing and supervising bishops and ward 12 leaders.”
Show all 14 citing cases →
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.