The New Jersey Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, ruled that the Mediterranean South co-operative building in Fort Lee, New Jersey violated an owner’s right to free speech by prohibiting him from distributing campaign literature when he ran for a seat on the board.  The co-op had a house rule that prohibited owners from distributing written material, the reason given is to “preserve the residents’ quiet enjoyment of their units and to cut down on paper pollution”.  But, as we know, what is good for the goose is not always good for the gander because when the board distributed their diatribes, quiet enjoyment was never a consideration and apparently, unlike all other paper, the board’s missives did not pollute.  On a somewhat humorous note, (or is it ironic?), the board included the following sentence in one of their leaflets;  “Can you imagine the disaster that would befall upon Med South and all of us if this group of selfish people ever got control of the Med South Board?”

Robert Dublirer joins us On The Commons.  Rob is a former New York Prosecutor, so well versed in the law and quite comfortable in a court of law so after years of having his rights trampled on and being lied to, he decided to put his knowledge and skills to work.  He sued the Mediterranean South co-op to protect his right to communicate with his neighbors.  The rules and regulations adopted by the board include some of the most restrictive gag orders on what the owners are allowed to talk about and discuss.  Join us as Rob fills us in on all his battles from the time he moved in and was not given  a handicapped parking space to ending up, not only protecting his rights, but also arguing for the rights of his fellow New Jersey HOA denizens.