Condo Media - December 2012 - 24
ASKED & ANSWERED
Accusations and Controversy
Can Board Members Sue?
Q A
QUESTION: At our association’s annual meeting, a fellow board member accused me of taking a kickback. Can I sue him for libel? ANSWER: The short answer: “Anyone can sue anyone for anything at any time.” The more useful questions are these: Should you sue, and if you do, what is the likelihood that you will win? Reader advisory: These are legal questions and there won’t be anything concise about the answers. If you sue for anything, Ellen Shapiro, a partner in Goodman, Shapiro & Lombardi, LLC, explains, it would be for slander, which applies to oral defamation. Libel applies to defamatory comments made in writing. In either case, truth will be an absolute defense against any defamation claim. So if you accepted the kickbacks of which you are accused, you have no basis for your suit and would be better advised to find an attorney to defend you against the criminal charges you may face.
Assess the Damages
Assuming the allegations are untrue, the next legal question you must answer is, what damages have you suffered as a result of the slander? These damages can be financial: You lost a job or a job opportunity, or emotional: You were voted out of office, you lost the standing in the community you enjoyed before, friends (or former friends) now shun you, you’ve been receiving anonymous threats by mail and phone, have been unable to eat or sleep and have been forced to seek medical help as a result. Your damages can take many forms, Shapiro explains, but you will have to document or quantify them in some way. If you don’t have any damages or can’t provide evidence of them, she cautions, you won’t have a cause of action, which means a court won’t consider your suit. If you do file suit, one of the key questions a court may consider is whether your position as a condominium board member makes you a public figure, in the same category as an elected official in government. If you are not a public figure, you will have to prove only that the comments made about you were untrue in order to win a defamation claim, Shapiro explains. If you are a public figure, however, the legal bar is set much higher: You will have to prove not only that the comments were untrue, but that they were made maliciously, with “casual or callous disregard for the truth.” Massachusetts courts have not ruled specifically on this question, Shapiro says, but courts in other jurisdictions have gone both ways on the issue. The Wyoming Supreme Court recently rejected a board member’s recent defamation claim, finding that the dispute was essentially “a political one,” that the community association was the equivalent of a city council and
24
CONDO MEDIA • DECEMBER 2012
Condo Media - December 2012
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Condo Media - December 2012
Condo Media - December 2012
Table of Contents
From the CED’s Desk
President’s Message
CAI News
CAI Regional News
Asked & Answered
Homeowner’s Corner
Legal Update
Passing the Torch
Vendor Spotlight
Pest Management
Industry Perspective
Technology
Environmental
Classified Service Directory
Advertisers Index
The Lighter Side
Condo Media - December 2012 - Condo Media - December 2012
Condo Media - December 2012 - Cover2
Condo Media - December 2012 - Table of Contents
Condo Media - December 2012 - From the CED’s Desk
Condo Media - December 2012 - 3
Condo Media - December 2012 - President’s Message
Condo Media - December 2012 - 5
Condo Media - December 2012 - CAI News
Condo Media - December 2012 - 7
Condo Media - December 2012 - 8
Condo Media - December 2012 - 9
Condo Media - December 2012 - 10
Condo Media - December 2012 - 11
Condo Media - December 2012 - 12
Condo Media - December 2012 - 13
Condo Media - December 2012 - 14
Condo Media - December 2012 - 15
Condo Media - December 2012 - CAI Regional News
Condo Media - December 2012 - 17
Condo Media - December 2012 - 18
Condo Media - December 2012 - 19
Condo Media - December 2012 - 20
Condo Media - December 2012 - 21
Condo Media - December 2012 - 22
Condo Media - December 2012 - 23
Condo Media - December 2012 - Asked & Answered
Condo Media - December 2012 - 25
Condo Media - December 2012 - Homeowner’s Corner
Condo Media - December 2012 - 27
Condo Media - December 2012 - Legal Update
Condo Media - December 2012 - 29
Condo Media - December 2012 - 30
Condo Media - December 2012 - 31
Condo Media - December 2012 - Passing the Torch
Condo Media - December 2012 - 33
Condo Media - December 2012 - 34
Condo Media - December 2012 - 35
Condo Media - December 2012 - Vendor Spotlight
Condo Media - December 2012 - 37
Condo Media - December 2012 - Pest Management
Condo Media - December 2012 - 39
Condo Media - December 2012 - 40
Condo Media - December 2012 - 41
Condo Media - December 2012 - 42
Condo Media - December 2012 - 43
Condo Media - December 2012 - Industry Perspective
Condo Media - December 2012 - 45
Condo Media - December 2012 - 46
Condo Media - December 2012 - 47
Condo Media - December 2012 - 48
Condo Media - December 2012 - 49
Condo Media - December 2012 - Technology
Condo Media - December 2012 - 51
Condo Media - December 2012 - 52
Condo Media - December 2012 - 53
Condo Media - December 2012 - Environmental
Condo Media - December 2012 - 55
Condo Media - December 2012 - 56
Condo Media - December 2012 - Classified Service Directory
Condo Media - December 2012 - Advertisers Index
Condo Media - December 2012 - 59
Condo Media - December 2012 - 60
Condo Media - December 2012 - 61
Condo Media - December 2012 - 62
Condo Media - December 2012 - 63
Condo Media - December 2012 - The Lighter Side
Condo Media - December 2012 - Cover3
Condo Media - December 2012 - Cover4
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