John Cummings Posted December 10, 2021 at 04:19 PM Report Share Posted December 10, 2021 at 04:19 PM Are electronic signaures considered valid? I belong to a seasonal HOA/Campgroup in New Hampshire and am looking to use an online petition service such as change.org to collect signatures for a petition regarding a by-law change. It is off-season and would be difficult to collect paper signatures as owners are dispersed up and down the east coast. I have asked this question to a NH Condo lawyer and posted this question while waiting for a response. Two new laws were added in 2000, the Federal "E-Sign act" and "UETA". I'm not a lawyer and not sure if these laws apply to HOA's. I would hope they do. Plus some details from the New Hampshire Unifor Electronic Transaction act. TITLE XXVII CORPORATIONS, ASSOCIATIONS, AND PROPRIETORS OF COMMON LANDS CHAPTER 294-E UNIFORM ELECTRONIC TRANSACTIONS ACT 294-E:7 Legal Recognition of Electronic Records, Electronic Signatures, and Electronic Contracts. – I. A record or signature may not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form. II. A contract may not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because an electronic record was used in its formation. III. If a law requires a record to be in writing, an electronic record satisfies the law. IV. If a law requires a signature, an electronic signature satisfies the law. Thanks John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Martin Posted December 10, 2021 at 06:48 PM Report Share Posted December 10, 2021 at 06:48 PM (edited) On 12/10/2021 at 10:19 AM, John Cummings said: Are electronic signaures considered valid? RONR has no answer to this question. RONR has very little to say about petitions at all, and the few rules where the subject is addressed, such as RONR (12th ed.) 46:26, do not address this detail. This is not a question about RONR, but instead involves questions about your bylaws and about applicable law. The former question is for your society to interpret, and the latter question should be addressed to an attorney, as you have done. Edited December 10, 2021 at 06:51 PM by Josh Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Cummings Posted December 10, 2021 at 07:26 PM Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2021 at 07:26 PM Thanks Josh! In the meantime the attorney did respond and it is his opinion if it came to it that a court would approve the e-signatures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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