For Association Rules, A Key Court Endorsement

The New Jersey Supreme Court recently dealt a serious blow to dissident community association homeowners there, ruling that protections for free speech and freedom of assembly don't apply to a private community association.

The issue has been hotly debated throughout the country. The New Jersey court affirmed the general understanding that for the First Amendment to be applied, a government -- whether federal, state or local -- must be the body attempting to curtail constitutional protections. And private associations don't qualify.

The Twin Rivers Homeowners Association is a private corporation that covers about one square mile in New Jersey. The association maintains its private residential roads, provides street lighting and snow removal, and collects trash for its 10,000 residents. An elected board of directors makes and enforces the rules.

Each homeowner pays a yearly assessment, pursuant to an annual budget adopted by the board.

Unhappy with some of the rules the board enacted, a group of homeowners formed the Committee for a Better Twin Rivers and challenged the association on several issues:

· A limit on the number of signs homeowners could post on their property -- one per lawn and one per window -- and a rule prohibiting signs on utility poles.

· A rental fee to use the association's community room.

· Access to the association's monthly newspaper. The committee sought a permanent injunction against the board president that would prevent him from using the newspaper "as his own personal political trumpet."

The committee filed suit, claiming that the rules violated members' First Amendment rights.