Thanks for tuning back in to our long-running show Twin Rivers, Twin Rivers.  After a more than six-year run, we have reached our final episode with today’s ruling from the New Jersey Supreme Court.

 

Anyone with an interest in community associations is familiar with the Twin Rivers saga.  But in case you missed it, our story begins with a handful of residents in this NJ community of 10,000.  They claimed Twin Rivers was not a community association, but a government, and that a variety of community rules were infringing on their rights of free speech and assembly as guaranteed by the New Jersey Constitution.  They enlisted the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, along with Professor Frank Askin and his students at Rutgers University’s Constitutional Litigation Clinic, to have the courts, rather than the residents, determine the rules for their community. 

 

It has been an up and down story throughout.  First the Trial Court found for the defendants.  Then the Court of Appeals issued a partial reversal, finding for the plaintiffs on three issues.  But you can read more about the history of the case and the various court decisions in my previous blog post and on the CAI Twin Rivers page .

 

So let's cut right to the chase.  After a very long and very winding legal road, including an amicus brief filed by CAI on behalf of the Twin Rivers Homeowners Association, the New Jersey Supreme Court unanimously reversed the Court of Appeals, reinstated the Trial Court decision, and ruled today that:

 

  • Residents of community associations in New Jersey not only have the right to express themselves, but also enjoy the freedom to set reasonable restrictions governing that expression within their communities
  • Associations are not governments for constitutional or operational purposes
  • The relationship between homeowners and their association is based on a contractual agreement that is fundamental to the nature of communities like Twin Rivers
  • And as is always the case, effective governance is the art of weighing the rights and obligations of the individuals with the interests and responsibilities of the organization as a whole

The Court concluded, "... in balancing plaintiffs' expressional rights against the Association’s private property interest, the Association’s policies do not violate the free speech and right of assembly clauses of the New Jersey Constitution.”  The full text of the Supreme Court decision can be read here. 

 

This is an important victory for homeowners and associations across the country.  It validates and supports almost four decades of legislative history and judicial precedent regarding the status of community associations, it further defines and protects the rights of all homeowners, and it supports the traditional concept that government (whether it be the executive, legislative or judicial branches) should not interfere with private contracts and associations freely entered into.

 

So as the curtain finally comes down on our story, CAI thanks all those involved for the time and energy brought to this important precedent setting case.  We hope that association boards, as well as individual homeowners, will look to the NJ Court’s opinion for guidance and inspiration in developing, implementing, and administering reasonable rules in their communities.