In a July 11 ruling on GEFT Outdoor v City of Westfield the Indiana US Court of Appeals for the Seventh District remanded an out of home dispute back to a lower court to reconsider a verdict in light of Reagan v Austin. Westfield, Indiana denied a request by GEFT […]
By Michael Wardle, General Counsel, YESCO Outdoor Media If you’ve been in the outdoor business long enough, then there’s a good chance you have a received a letter from an attorney representing a landowner that challenges the validity of a ground lease. Such a letter may make one or more […]
A landowner can’t claim that it owns a billboard if creates barriers which prevent you from removing a billboard in a timely manner. That’s the lesson of Kwik Stop v Lamar. Here are the facts. Lamar owned a 30 by 36 static billboard on Kwik Stop property in Indiana. When […]
GEFT has sued the Marion County, Indiana for the third time. GEFT won the first two rounds: a 2016 lawsuit over wrongful termination of a billboard permit and a 2017 law suit which voided the Marion County sign code on first amendment grounds. This time GEFT is challenging the city’s decision […]
Cincinnati has petitioned the US Supreme Court to review the issue of whether a municipal excise tax on billboards abridges freedom of speech. The Ohio State Supreme Court ruled that a billboard tax infringed on the first amendment rights of a small group of speakers. A Maryland Supreme Court ruled […]
Are you liable for damages if a landlord cancels your billboard lease and you put up a billboard nearby which prevents the landlord from putting up a billboard? No, based on U.P.C Inc dba Garco Industrial Park v R.O.A. General, Inc. dba Reagan Outdoor Advertising (“Reagan”). Here are the facts. […]
Today at 10am eastern time the US Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Reagan v Austin. The court will allow 70 minutes for oral arguments. The Court is reviewing a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision that Austin’s restriction on off-premise digital billboards was a content based violation of […]
Is a billboard lease valid if if contains an altered legal description and is improperly acknowledged? Yes. That’s the lesson of Engler v Franklin Outdoor. Here are the facts. Franklin Outdoor asked Michael Flynn if it could erect a billboard on Flynn’s property. James Franklin and Michael Flynn. walked the […]
Knowing the difference between a conforming and non-conforming billboard will keep you out of trouble with regulators. Here’s a short course on conforming and non-conforming out of home advertising signs. What’s a conforming sign? A conforming out of home advertising sign is lawfully erected and in compliance with federal, state […]
Lots of parties have filed briefs in the Supreme Court’s review of the Austin v Reagan case. Austin wants the Supreme Court to throw out an Appeals Court ruling invalidating Austin’s sign code because it had one set of rules for on-premise digital signs and another set for off premise […]
