Lawsuit

Has anyone ever had a board member sue Association and MC for defamation and win the lawsuit?

Consider that the director may be far more interested in a settlement offer from the HOA insurer than going to court.

Interesting, Bill!

In a campaign for the board in late '19, my supporters and I distributed a cool, dispassionate, but highly critical "fact sheet" about the then-Board. Every word was true and bolstered by citations, etc. We distributed it before a Board meeting that had maybe 25 owners attending. We gave it to the Board too. They hastily read it. The prez, an attorney, opened the meeting by announcing that our fact sheet was defamatory and she was going "to do something about it!"

Her buddies (one also an attorney) were defeated in the election and she resigned. She never took any action against us.

One point of relying this story is that Owners can weaken or eliminate (in this case) bad Boards, but it takes patience, knowledge of especially the assn. bylaws, hard work and unity with others.

Suing your HOA is suing yourself and your neighbors...

When a threat of legal action is heard, we stop all communication with that owner. If they are serious and just not throwing around words to push us to submission, we wait for something from THEIR lawyer before engaging our lawyer. Most times it's just a threat from their frustration.

Small claims court in NC only handles monies owed, so you can't sue for defamation in small claims court here.

Wait until you receive something from their lawyer.

As a board member, I've been defamed on social media many times. Even accused of identity theft. Nothing ever came of it, but the posts that were made were removed by the poster fairly quickly.

To be covered, make sure your D & O insurance is up to date.

So, Courtney, is this something that IS happening? Or something you want to happen? Are you on the Board?

Defamation suits are very hard to prove. There are so many factors involved. Proof of damages is one of the hardest parts to prove. Let's say I go on Facebook and call you a "Karen". Well what damage was actually done other than sharing of my opinion?

Let's say you own a business. I go online and say "Mrs. X Sewing business sucks". Well again that is opinion. No real damages. Now if I went and said "Mr. X Sewing business does bad work by not sewing seams correctly". That is different. Seams being glued instead of sewn as requested or crooked is "damage". I could sue the company for faulty work etc. However, if I said this and it caused other people NOT to do business with Mrs. X Sewing business, that is "DEFAMATION". Mrs. X has to prove that they lost business because of what you said about their business. Not very easy to prove if your trying to find someone willing to state "I did not do business or took my business away from Mrs. X business because of what you stated".

Damages could maybe be "punitive" but not all small claim courts award punitive damages. Otherwise, it could just be limited to "real" damages like the expense of bringing the lawsuit.

Have to also keep in mind that it has to be UNTRUE. Which what if the seams were sewn well or glue was agreed upon? Well then can't go around saying "They sew/glue seams badly" if the facts are not accurate. That isn't defamation. Those are then facts.

So before you jump into the whole "HOA defamation" lawsuit. Make sure you are prepared to pay the price for it. Plus understand your fellow neighbors will be doing the same.

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