1 4 Because the company’s action arose out of intrastate business, the court held that the company could not maintain the action in California until the company qualified to do business in California. Plainly, the company did not enter California over a nearly 10-year period to contribute to or conclude a “unitary interstate transaction.” 1 3 As a result, even though no one of the company’s activities would necessarily have constituted intrastate business, the court concluded that, taken together, they did, “despite the fact that Neogard strategically maintained no payrolled office” in California. In addition, the company, which guaranteed its product for 10 years, sometimes sent one of its agents to sign the guarantee at the completion of the project and always appeared at the site to assist a contractor in remedying the problem if called on to make good on the guarantee. But the company flew its employees from Texas to California to inspect every project that its local waterproofing contractors carried out in California. The company did not maintain inventory, an office, a bank account, a telephone number, or payrolled employees in California during the time in question. Malott & Peterson-Grundy, 1 2 the foreign corporation went even further in attempting to avoid “transacting intrastate business” in California while nevertheless developing a market there for its system for waterproofing construction projects. On those facts, the court concluded that the company was transacting intrastate business in California. Copies of the music, though printed in New York, were kept in, and distributed from, the California office. However, the company did maintain a “professional office” in California, from which an agent solicited singers and bands to play and purchase the company’s copyrighted songs. The company did not maintain a bank account and did not publish any music in California. Lampton, 1 1 a music publishing company was formed in New York and had its principal place of business there. If a company engages in any activities in California beyond those, it becomes necessary to take a close look at the activities to try to determine if the company must be qualified to transact intrastate business in the state.
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