Billboard Firm Sues City of Indianapolis, Claiming an Unconstitutional Sign Ordinance
Jan 27, 2016
Earlier in October, GEFT Outdoor LLC filed a lawsuit in Indiana federal court in an attempt to bar the city of Indianapolis from enforcing its ban on digital billboards. The lawsuit follows the recent US Supreme Court decision on first amendment issues with sign codes.
The lawsuit brought by GEFT alleges Indianapolis’s sign code violates the First Amendment by having different content standards for "on premises" and "off premises" signs. They point out that on-premise signs are allowed to have digital content while off-premises signs, which advertise a business, service or product located elsewhere are not allowed to have digital content.
According to the complaint the issue directly relates to the content issue because the ordinance imposes more restrictions on one type of content than another. The City/County Council is expected to address the issue regarding the code sometime in November.
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