Boards fighting NOT-OFFICIAL Websites |
An Opinion By Jan Bergemann Published June 12, 2007
It's the old game we are seeing all the time: Boards don't like the postings on the bulletin boards of the official association website and pull the bulletin boards or censor the entries. And the way some boards are acting, I can definitely understand that they don't want to see the truth posted. Truth might hurt and often actions of the board are better kept behind closed doors. And board members are often afraid that come next election they will be voted off the board if the association members find out what is really happening -- and where their money went!
But, some homeowners don't take kindly to censorship, especially if it's done on a website paid for by their own dues!
The answer to this abuse of power: Owners are building their own websites -- with open bulletin boards -- and postings that board members don't like. Then the board members use association money to pay for the kind of attorney letters you see below! Actually these letters don't have any real legal meaning -- mostly they are blowing smoke! The private websites normally all carry disclaimers and are well protected under First Amendments rights.
The letters normally only blow a lot of smoke trying to intimidate the owners "daring" to get their voices across. Phrases like "trademarks" and "copyrights" are thrown in for good measure and pictures of the entrance carrying the community name are declared private property. Everything to scare the private website owners. We have seen more than one letter sent by attorneys trying to intimidate the owner enough to have him/her pull the website! Actually, it's just more waste of association dues to serve the private agenda of some board members who are afraid that their neighbors might find out the truth. We have seen on many occasions that "FREE SPEECH" is definitely not appreciated in some communities -- and lots of association money has been wasted to gag owners that didn't follow the party line or that had their own opinion about events in the association. The most notorious legal fight about free speech here in Florida was the newsletter distribution case Henry S. Ludwig vs. Tudor Cay Condominium Association, Inc. , where the attorney for the beaten association, Steven Mezer, was quoted in a newspaper: "I admire the guy. He has a right to push the First Amendment, but the law doesn't apply here." Mezer said freedom of speech does not apply in the Tudor Cay case, because homeowners associations concern themselves with private property, not public property. "Most condos have an anti-solicitation rule of some type," Mezer said. "It's in their declaration of rules and regulations." He argues that those rules supersede even constitutional rights.
We will see about that when the New Jersey Supreme Court finally publishes the decision in the BATTLE AT TWIN RIVER, expected next week!
If
the decision is not favorable for the homeowners, we are all thrown back
into the Stone Age. Then actually a German
legislator was correct, who was quoted after a conference in
But we do need independent websites if dictatorial boards are trying to gag homeowners! SCANNED VERSION OF LETTER:
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