Right, although it might be some other law. After I sent this, I thought it was more likely Fair Housing Act or something similar.
Actually I was both right and wrong. From HUD's website: Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Fair Housing Act), as amended, prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of dwellings, and in other housing-related transactions, based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status (including children under the age of 18 living with parents of legal custodians, pregnant women, and people securing custody of children under the age of
If you like sleep inducing reading you can try to sort this all out here
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the answer must be ambiguous or the lawyer wouldn't have taken the case. Of course a lawyer can always find something ambiguous if you pay them to.
From the story above. "Grievances and propaganda" is how the association's attorney described the Web site's content, in a certified letter Aug. 9 demanding that Zaki cease any use therein of the trademarked name The Hamptons.
messagenews:-ZSdnQyra4qPsmnbnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com...> The HOA doesn't have leg to stand on. Jeeeeze what a waste of time.
More than that: HOAs often have private roads paid by the residents, private trash pickup, and private snow removal. The local government still gets their 100% of the property tax, but doesn't have to pay for the above mentioned items.
The Constitution limits what the Government CAN do. People are free to do anything they please, as long as they don't violate the rights of others. In your above example, you've violating the property rights of the mall owners because you'd be doing something they don't want done on their property. In the web site example, the owner isn't violating any rights of anybody.
I suspect that as the Matlock generatrion fades into the sunset you will see a lot of these HOAs let their deed restrictions lapse. You just have to wake up the "silent majority" and get them to show up at the annual meeting. Usually HOAs are dominated by a couple dozen people since they are the ones who show up. In real life all you really want to do is lose the stupid rules you inherited from the developer and piss people off. That is not that hard a process. You just need the votes.
on 9/21/2007 12:19 PM Kurt Ullman said the following:
They can't copyright the word 'Hamptons'. They might even be on shaky grounds copywriting "The Hamptons" "The Hamptons" is a common reference for the region in Suffolk County, Long Island NY that is a summer home to many of the elite and famous. See also this site:
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(TheHamptons.com)
The association's lawyer's letter to the web site owner stated that it is forbidden to use the logos, trademarks, or designs of the community.
"19.3 Promotional Events: ... All logos, trademarks, and designs used in connection with The Hamptons are the property of Developer, and the Association shall have no right to use the same after the Community Completion Date except with the express written permission of Developer.
-------------------------------- Pursuant to Florida Statutes Section 495.15 1, the Association has the right to bring a suit for injunction to defend its logos, trademarks, and designs against anyone who wrongfully uses the same or similar logos, trademarks and designs. That Section states as follows:
The owner of a mark that is famous in this state shall be entitled, subject to the principles of equity and upon such terms as the court deems reasonable, to an injunction and to obtain such other relief against another person' commercial use of a mark or trade name if such use begins after the mark has become famous and is likely to cause dilution of the distinctive quality of the famous mark, as provided in this section."
It does not state anything about using the name 'The Hamptons', or Hamptons. Unless the website owner uses any of the logos, trademarks, or designs of the developer, he is not in violation of the covenant.
This is just a feeble attempt to scare the website owner into taking the site down.
If you can assure there is no election fraud when all the voters are watching the count you deserve to be oppressed. The biggest opportunity for fraud is in the proxy count but any member has the right to examine the proxies.
IIRC, the way I remember a bit going in the courts is that an HOA is a level of government, and therefore subject to the restrictions on government by the Bill of Rights (1st 10 amendments to the USA Constitution, especially the 1st), as extended to non-Federal governments in the USA by another constitutional amendment (I believe the 14th).
A mall is usually property owned privately or maybe by a corporation whose shares trade on a "public" stock exchange - which is still "private sector". An HOA IIRC has some case law as being to some extent a level of government.
That leads me to suspect that usually HOAs are more subject to "Bill of Rights" restrictions than shopping malls are.
It appears to me that they can be driven upon by anyone if they connect to public roads and are not marked "No Trespassing - Not A Public Thoroughfare" or something along these lines.
Sounds to me at least arguably functions of a sub-municipal level of government! (A level below often "township", which has a bit of case history being 36 square miles IIRC and is usually at least a few square miles).
The next-lower level of government gets their tax that is called an HOA fee!
I am finding plenty of areas lacking HOAs in "inner ring suburbs" of Philadelphia. By this I mean most residences in municipalities bordering Philadelphia, and most residences in municipalities that border ones that border Philadelphia. I see HOAs in the Philadelphia area being more common in municipalities 3-4 or so removed from Philadelphia, often in a county that does not border Philadelphia or over 10 miles (often over
20 miles) from Philadelphia city limits or both! I also see high lack of HOAs within Philadelphia's city limits, though I am low on nice things to say about the municipal level of government there, as well as on the PA "state" government! And I see NJ as being minor improvement!
HOA elections are nothing like "public" elections. It is clear you have never been to one. It all happens right there in front of your eyes and anyone who wants can watch over their shoulder while they count the ballots. A simple majority of the members present can force a recount.
They are trademarking it. Maybe, maybe not. They could TM The Hamptoms in the context of a FL subdivision as long as it hadn't been by another. They are for a specific service or range of services (or products). There might be some attempt under the "passing off" part of the regs, but I find it hard to believe that a Sarasota houing development could be confused with a section of Long Island by too many people.
Yep. Which would have little to do with the trademarking of the name for a Florida Subdivision. Although a quick search through the trademark registry finds none for FL (Although I did find that apparently Racine, WI holds the Hamptons of the Midwest, BTW a community).
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