Condo Media - May 2021 - 37

Jess enlisted the support of the
ACLU and filed suit claiming that the
condominium had violated Jess's civil
rights and free speech rights guaranteed
by the Massachusetts State Constitution.
The Court initially granted a preliminary
injunction allowing Jess to keep her sign
and prevent the condominium from
enforcing fines against Jess. Ultimately,
in the face of expensive and divisive
litigation, the condominium settled
the matter in the form of a permanent
Final Judgment, which forever allows
all condominium unit owners the ability
to post whatever signs they want on the
condominium common area, limited
only by the condominium's ability to
locate the size and location of the signs.
The ACLU perceives and is publicizing
its settlement in Jess as a victory. Since
the Jess case, a handful of other condominiums have received letters from the
ACLU demanding that condominiums
change their rules to permit all signage on
condominium common areas. Decalcomania is sweeping the country. The ACLU
is poised to seize upon political division
in a manner which could negatively affect
condominiums for years to come.
LEGAL BASIS AND
CONSTITUTIONALITY
Condominiums - like single family homes
- are private property. As a general matter,
condominium boards have the ability to
make rules relative to the common area,
whereas restrictions pertaining to the
use of a unit must be in the originating
documents or approved by the owners.
Is there any legal basis for ACLU's
alleged constitutional " free speech "
violations? Not really. A critical
component of every free speech claim
is the requirement for state action.
Making rules on private property does
not constitute " state action. " While
there was a condominium case in
Massachusetts a few years ago called
Preu v. Old Colony Board of Managers,
holding that enforcement of rules in
a condominium did constitute state
action, that case like Jess is another
example of bad facts/bad law. Any reasonable, informed, and unbiased legal
analysis of condominium rule making

and enforcement should determine
that there is no state action and hence
no constitutional violation. The ACLU
will always allege constitutional or civil
rights violations so it can threaten an
award of attorney fees if successful.
That is the cudgel of their decalcomania. Condominiums should wrestle the
ACLU on this point.
Apart from the constitutional analysis, condominium rules still need to
be reasonable and equally enforced to
avoid general challenge. Regulating the
content of signs is a difficult proposition
and can be a slippery slope, and yes, it
goes both ways. Do we really want competing signs? You will have the owner
that wants a sign of a confederate flag
just as often as the owner that wants a
political movement sign.
CONDOMINIUM RESPONSE
So, how should condominium's respond?
There is the ACLU's " decalcomania option, " which is to open up the common
areas to signs of all kinds, subject only
to the board's ability to regulate their
size and location. While it may be wellintentioned, it has the very real possibility
of creating division within the condominium, with sign competitions and messages being sent via signs. The ACLU's
decalcomania obsession is not necessarily
consistent with community harmony.
Sadly, the most conservative option
going forward is for condominiums to
simply ban all common area signs, no exceptions. That should eliminate the issue
entirely, as the elimination of all signage
is not content-based and it eliminates
discretion and uneven enforcement.
That still might not stop the ACLU from
attempting to challenge your condominium's rules, but it certainly eliminates
their main argument.
A moderate option might be to allow
signage during certain periods, such as
periods of time leading up to a state or
federal election. This can be tricky however, as it has the possibility to lead to a
free for all content-wise, including signs
that have nothing to do with campaigns
or politics. The trick is to avoid contentbased restrictions. This moderate option if it is tailored to time (maybe 30 or

60 days prior to the election) might be
a nice middle ground and give residents
an opportunity to express themselves,
provided that your community (unlike
the rest of America) is sophisticated
enough to handle differing viewpoints
and opinions.
The ACLU has made condominium
signs a focus of its agenda in 2021.
The ACLU website is championing the
Jess decision and is soliciting testers and
cases. If the ACLU engages your condominium, you should consult a lawyer
and discuss options. Their constitutional
analysis is flawed and they have some
significant legal standing issues on these
challenges. In light of the ACLU's interest
in this issue, now is the time for all condominiums to revisit their sign rules and
restrictions. Let's try not to get swept up
in Decalcomania 2021!
■ EDMUND A. ALLCOCK,
ESQ., CCAL IS A PARTNER IN
THE LAW FIRM MARCUS, ERRICO,
EMMER & BROOKS, P.C..

Lending and
Banking Solutions
Designed for Condo
Associations

Timothy Murphy

774.454.9918
Timothy.Murphy@RocklandTrust.com
Member FDIC
May 2021 CONDOMEDIA

37



Condo Media - May 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Condo Media - May 2021

Contents
Condo Media - May 2021 - Cover1
Condo Media - May 2021 - Cover2
Condo Media - May 2021 - Contents
Condo Media - May 2021 - 2
Condo Media - May 2021 - 3
Condo Media - May 2021 - 4
Condo Media - May 2021 - 5
Condo Media - May 2021 - 6
Condo Media - May 2021 - 7
Condo Media - May 2021 - 8
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Condo Media - May 2021 - Cover3
Condo Media - May 2021 - Cover4
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