SIDE STREETS: HOA's thorn regains use of sharp tongue
Florissant-area resident Jan Jackson's constitutional right to free speech has been restored, allowing her to resume savaging her homeowners association board. If she dares.
The Colorado Court of Appeals has overturned a gag order issued in October 2007 by 4th Judicial District Judge Thomas Kennedy.
But the appellate court did not overturn Kennedy's ruling that Jackson libeled members of the B Lazy M Ranch HOA board in years of verbal and written attacks in which she routinely branded them as "corrupt; wannabe dictators; psychopaths; sycophants."
So Jackson gets back her voice. But she risks more lawsuits, fines and attorneys' fees like the thousands she now faces for her decade-long battle with the HOA board, says the association's attorney, Jack Scheuerman.
Jackson's response is no surprise: she is appealing to the state Supreme Court.
"It's not done yet," Jackson said, insisting the HOA defamation lawsuit came too late, after the one-year statute of limitations on such claims had expired. That's the basis of her appeal to the high court.
It's an important appeal because Jackson was ordered to pay $10,000 for libeling the board members, and the HOA is seeking $36,000 in attorneys' fees.
It may be months before the high court decides whether to hear the appeal.
As for the gag order, the judge technically must reconsider it before the injunction is dissolved. But Scheuerman has no doubt it will be rescinded, based on the appellate court opinion.
"We asked for the injunction to prohibit her from publishing defamatory information about the board," he said. "The judge structured it so . . . she needed court approval before she published anything.
"But the Court of Appeals said injunctions prohibiting future conduct . . . must meet a real strict standard; it must involve national security. This does not."
Under the gag order, Jackson needed permission to publish any more letters to the editor, or blog postings or even to communicate with the HOA board. She risked being found in contempt of court, fined and even jailed if she refused.
Despite her victory, Jackson, 76, is watching what she says to reporters and puts on her Web site and anti-HOA-themed Web cast.
But she continues to campaign to abolish HOAs. She launched her crusade in 2001 after getting crosswise with the HOA board of the B Lazy M, where she and her husband own two 35-acre ranchettes.
The dispute started when the board cited Jackson for a fence she built in violation of covenants. It was too large to let folks on horses, elk and other wildlife roam.
She went after the HOA about a pond in the subdivision. Then she claimed the board denied her access to records. Then came venomous personal attacks against board members. Tense confrontations. And eventually lawsuits. Now appeals.
All of this over a fence.
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