HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - August 13, 2021
Published: Fri, 08/13/21
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HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - August 13, 2021
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In this week's tip, we answer a reader's simple question about an issue that, odds are, you've seen or run into in your community. In a nutshell, our HOAleader.com reader wants to know how to handle an unauthorized Facebook page that's using the name of the community—and has become a place where people take potshots at the board.
This is such a common problem, according to Scott D. Weiss, CCAL, a community association lawyer at Ortale Kelley in Nashville, Tenn., who represents more than 650 condos/HOA communities throughout the state. "I get this a lot, where a homeowner creates an unapproved Facebook page, and usually it's used by people who want to vent," he states. "It's used to call out the HOA, to talk about how bad they are, and to complain about what they're not doing right."
Sound familiar?
We bet. But the solution isn't always straightforward.
As a general rule, Stephen G. Davis, a Missouri- and Illinois-licensed attorney at Carmody MacDonald in St. Louis, which represents about 200 condo and HOA communities, isn't a fan of communities wading into social media.
"I generally encourage our clients to not get involved in social media debates or discussions," he says. "That's not the best way for the association to share information. Often, you're going to get more one-sided views on those Facebook pages, and it's just better not to get involved there."
But what about pages created by others? Your first and easiest option may be just to tell everybody that this isn't a community-approved site and to repeat that message more than once in more than one place.
"We've had this situation in a number of cases," reports Janet Oulousian Aronson, a partner at Marcus Errico Emmer & Brooks in Braintree, Mass., who is licensed in that state, in addition to Rhode Island and New Hampshire. "When my clients approach me about it, I recommend they put out a communication to all residents that there's a Facebook page that calls itself 'Shady Pines News' or whatever, but that it's not an official site of the association," she suggests. "Or maybe in your newsletter, you say it's not an official communication, that it doesn't represent the views of the board, and that it has nothing to do with the association.
"Some communities trademark their name, and they could go to court to stop the usage of the name," notes Aronson. "Otherwise, you can put people on notice it's not official and that the statements, views, and comments expressed on it have nothing to do with the association. You might also say that your policies are distributed on your website or through the manager or however you do that. But I don't think you can stop someone from using your community's name unless you have the trademark for the name."
That's a good tactic, Weiss agrees, but it doesn't always get you where you want to go. Find out why, and get tips on how to get you where you want to go, in our new article: https://www.hoaleader.com/members/4370.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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