Mediaboss Marketing

BELCHERTOWN A condominium owner prevailed over trustees who attempted to fine her $50 a day for displaying a Black Lives Matter sign in her flower bed, after a judge ruled in her favor in Hampshire Superior Court on Friday.

Margery Jess, owner of a unit at Summer Hill Estates, in October sued trustees of the condominium association who tried to strong-arm her into taking down the sign, threatening fines that would have amounted to more than $18,000 annually.

Judge Richard Carey initially granted Jess a temporary injunction to prevent the association from forcing her to take the sign down or face fines. Carey ruled Friday the condo associations bylaw designed to control the content of signage is unconstitutional and violates free speech protections.

Summer Hill Estates Condominium Trust is hereby permanently enjoined from interfering with Plaintiff Margery Jesss right to post, at and near her condominium and without prior permission of the Board from placing a Black Lives Matter sign or other signs that are consistent with the Rules and Regulations of the Trust that comply with the Courts Declarations above, Carey wrote in a brief ruling.

In her complaint, filed with the backing of the American Civil Liberties Union and Northampton attorney Luke Ryan, Jess said trustees told her to take the sign down on May 30, one day after she placed it in a flower bed outside her condo. Frank Pudlo, chairman of the condominium trust, sent her an email ordering the removal of the sign, arguing it was political during an election year.

Pudlo cited a rule in the associations bylaws requiring owners to seek prior permission to place signs outside their units. Jess sent a request when she learned of the rule, but was denied after a meeting she was not invited to attend, according to court records.

Summer Hill Estates is an over-55 development off Route 202 in Belchertown, billed as a vibrant and growing community, according to its website.

Jesss complaint said her neighbors were displaying signs with patriotic and ethnically based messages outside their units, including a Civil War-era flag. She and the trustees jousted over the matter in emails, court records show.

As some residents have hearts displayed on their doors and windows as an expression of supporting healthcare providers during COVID-19, I (am) supporting our fellow Black Americans as they deal with continued institutional racism and police brutality, Jess wrote in one email.

The Trustees voted today on your request and the majority vote was not to allow your sign to be displayed, the trustees responded. Our decision is to not allow signs with any political intent or connotation. This decision is especially relevant with this being an election year. The other signs (located outside other owners units), are not political and are considered decorations.

The sign remains in the window of Jesss condo, said William Newman, director of the ACLU of Massachusetts Western Regional Law Office.

This case is a poignant reminder of the foundational importance of freedom of speech, particularly in these fraught and perilous times, Newman said. Ms. Jess standing strong for this fundamental freedom has been inspiring.

Jess released a statement lauding Careys ruling.

I am enormously appreciative of the Courts judgment, which guarantees my right to freely exercise freedom of speech in support of anti-racism and social justice in my community, she said.

The ACLU also applauded the judges ruling as part of the civil liberties lobbys efforts to protect free speech and beat back condominium associations efforts to control members First Amendment rights.

Across Massachusetts, we see condo and homeowners associations impeding the right of property owners and tenants to engage in free speech through signs at and near their homes, said Ruth Bourquin, senior and managing staff attorney at the ACLU of Massachusetts. We hope this landmark decision is a wake-up call that such restrictions must end.

Read the original here:
Judge overrules Belchertown condo association that tried to bar Black Lives Matter lawn sign - MassLive.com