Posted on 01/08/2011 6:14:39 AM PST by Mayr Fortuna
A Marine Corps veteran is being sued by his Cypress-area homeowners association because the flagpole on which he flies the United States and Marine Corps flags does not meet his subdivision's design guidelines.
Mike Merola and his lawyer, Lee Thweatt, say this is a classic case of overreach by a nitpicking homeowners association. Lakeland Village Community Association says it is seeking to enforce its rules evenly on all residents.
Standing in his backyard in a black T-shirt bearing an eagle and the American flag, the 60-year-old Merola called that argument "a lame excuse." After his application to erect a 20-foot flagpole in his backyard was denied, he protested in a series of letters and, ultimately, erected the pole anyway.
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
Know what the problem with Liberals is?
They are all IMMORAL! Unprincipled scumbags!
These people are despicable, and deserve to be treated less than feces for holding such an opinion. I suppose these people are the direct result of not properly mocking children who insist on sitting down during the Pledge of Allegiance during school hours.
http://www.lawyers.com/Texas/Houston/Nina-A-Tran-2639860-a.html?tab=contact#details
Nina A. Tran is a Lawyer in Houston, Texas
Address
5847 San Felipe, Suite 2200
Houston, Texas 77057, (Ft. Bend, Harris & Montgomery Cos.)
Phone
713-977-8686
Email (can email this traitor via their website below )
Website
http://www.hooverslovacek.com
Non-Equity Partner at the firm Hoover Slovacek LLP
Areas of Practice
Business Law; Commercial Law; Real Estate; Construction Law; Creditors Rights; Corporate Law; Contracts
Admitted
1998, Texas
Law School
Southern Methodist University, J.D., 1998
College
University of Texas at Austin, B.A., 1994
Membership
Houston Bar Association; State Bar of Texas.
Biography
Born
Saigon, Vietnam, January 1, 1973
HOAs = mini Politburos
Yeah sure—they’re unpatriotic pissant tyrants. But he did enter into a contract, didn’t he? Anybody force him to do that?
TC
He's not forbidden from flying the flag. From the article:
"as long as that flag is attached to a 6-foot pole mounted on a resident's home, as the bylaws stipulate.",
Homeowners associations have rules. We live in a rule based society. The moral of this story is, he shouldn't have bought the property if he didn't like and is unwilling to abide by the rules.
Or Mike Merola should never have bought a piece of property which was governed by a HOA. I have no use for them but they do exist legally. Mike apparently knew of the rules as he tried to get a waiver but failed.
He did indeed. And while I personally hate HOAs and would never buy a property with one, it doesn't change the fact that the HOA cannot make rules which trump federal laws.
There was a case in Virginia not that long ago that involved a retired Marine who wished to fly his flag on his property in an HOA but ran into the same type of un-American scumbags. A federal law passed a few years ago forbids HOAs from restricting the proper display of a US flag and the HOA was forced to drop its actions against the Marine.
I hope the same result happens here.
"The association's lawyer, Nina Tran, said her clients encourage residents who wish to fly the flag to do so — as long as that flag is attached to a 6-foot pole mounted on a resident's home, as the bylaws stipulate."
then we have this from lawyer Nina Tran:
"If we allow the mounting of a 20-foot freestanding flagpole in the backyard, who's to say that the next person isn't going to mount it to the top of their roof? We have to have standards."
Sued by a bunch of liberal baby boomers who have lived in blue cities or blue states.
You’d better be careful. Around here you’re unpatriotic if you don’t kiss up to the boomers.
But he did enter into a contract, didn’t he? Anybody force him to do that?
— — —
Only 2 months after moving into my non-HOA neighborhood, my nieghbors and I found out, without notification, that some busybody beyotch decided that we all needed a HOA and went to the city council meeting alone to pass the request with a list of signatures. The voting would be either 2/3rds or 3/4ths or some super-majority percentage of the vote would push everyone into complying with this beyotch’s socialism.
Don’t condemn this guy too fast.
But he did enter into a contract, didn’t he? Anybody force him to do that?
— — —
Only 2 months after moving into my non-HOA neighborhood, my nieghbors and I found out, without notification, that some busybody beyotch decided that we all needed a HOA and went to the city council meeting alone to pass the request with a list of signatures. The voting would be either 2/3rds or 3/4ths or some super-majority percentage of the vote would push everyone into complying with this beyotch’s socialism.
Don’t condemn this guy too fast.
We are moving into a condo community next week. Our offer was contingent upon our reading and approving the by-laws. We know the rules. They may not be quite what I would have chosen, but we can live with them.
It’s terrible to see “Now we all gotta be fair” even showing up in this post.
People who SHOULD KNOW BETTER are speaking up for HOA rules, instead of DEFENDING THE DISPLAY OF PATRIOTISM.
RE: “disconnect between the HOA and their lawyer/who’s to say that the next person isn’t going to mount it to the top of their house”
I think the “it” refers to the 20’ pole, so no disconnect.
“”The problem with a flagpole of that height and that significance is that it flaps in the wind and causes noise to other homeowners,”
***
The Horrors!
...or secede from the home owner’s association, which would have been my preference. ;)
I HATE HOAs, and I keep a neat property. A bunch of meddlers, all of them.
That is the sound of freedom, you HOA commie idiots!
True, so the homeowners association then cannot make any bylaw that contradicts the laws of the land in which it belongs. Like the 'Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005', which says, in part, that a homeowners association "may not adopt or enforce any policy … that would restrict or prevent a member of the association from displaying the flag."
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