OUTDOOR ONE COMMUNICATIONS LLC v. CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF CANTON, MICHIGAN - Articles

All Content

OUTDOOR ONE COMMUNICATIONS LLC v. CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF CANTON, MICHIGAN

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Oct 8, 2025

Court: 6th Circuit Court (Published Opinions)

Attorneys 1: ON BRIEF: Donald R. Sheff, II, Royal Oak, Michigan, for Appellant. Matthew J. Zalewski, ROSATI SCHULTZ JOPPICH & AMTSBUECHLER, PC, Farmington Hills, Michigan, for Appellee.

Judge(s): SUHRHEINRICH, THAPAR, and LARSEN, Circuit Judges

Court Appealed: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan at Detroit

LARSEN, Circuit Judge. Outdoor One Communications LLC (Outdoor) applied for a permit to put up a billboard in Canton Township, Michigan. Canton denied the application because the proposed sign violated the local sign ordinance’s height and size restrictions. Outdoor then challenged Canton’s sign ordinance in federal court on various First Amendment grounds, including that the ordinance was an unconstitutional prior restraint on speech. The district court denied Outdoor’s claims for lack of standing, and this court affirmed. Outdoor has since filed another suit, once again alleging that the ordinance acts as a prior restraint. The district court determined that res judicata precluded the action and dismissed it. Because issue preclusion bars only part of the claim, and Outdoor has otherwise alleged standing, we AFFIRM in part, VACATE in part, and REMAND for further proceedings.

Attachments: