§ 17-23-120 — Derivative actions

(a) A beneficial owner may bring an action in the district
court in the right of a statutory trust to recover a judgment in
its favor if trustees with authority to do so have refused to
bring the action or if an effort to cause those trustees to
bring the action is not likely to succeed.
(b) In a derivative action, the plaintiff must be a
beneficial owner at the time of bringing the action and:
(i) At the time of the transaction of which he
complains; or
(ii) His status as a beneficial owner had devolved
upon him by operation of law or pursuant to the terms of the
governing instrument of the statutory trust from a person who
was a beneficial owner at the time of the transaction.
(c) In a derivative action, the complaint shall set forth
with particularity the effort, if any, of the plaintiff to
secure initiation of the action by the trustees, or the reasons
for not making the effort.
(d) If a derivative action is successful, in whole or in
part, or if anything is received by a statutory trust as a
result of a judgment, compromise or settlement of any derivative
action, the court may award the plaintiff reasonable expenses,
including reasonable attorney's fees. If anything is so
received by the plaintiff, the court shall make the award of the
plaintiff's expenses payable out of those proceeds and direct
the plaintiff to remit to the statutory trust the remainder of
the proceeds. If those proceeds are insufficient to reimburse
the plaintiff's reasonable expenses, the court may direct that
any award of plaintiff's expenses or portion thereof be paid by
the statutory trust.
(e) A beneficial owner's right to bring a derivative
action may be subject to additional standards and restrictions,
if any, as are set forth in the governing instrument, including,
without limitation, the requirement that beneficial owners
owning a specified beneficial interest in the statutory trust
join in the bringing of the derivative action.