Stipulated Order Costs Ann Arbor $7,050

The stipulated order in the Dobrowolski v. City of Ann Arbor case has now been filed by the Michigan Eastern District of the U.S. District Court. It requires the city of Ann Arbor to pay $7,000 in attorney fees and $50 to the plaintiff,  Paul Dobrowolski. The amount paid to Dobrowolski covers the tickets he was issued by the city for displaying anti-abortion signs in his vehicle while parked on a city street.

The stipulated order also permanently enjoins the city of Ann Arbor against enforcing its city ordinance against Dobrowolski’s vehicle signs. The lawsuit filed by Dobrowolski argued that the city’s ordinance violates the U.S. Constitution on its face and as applied to Dobrowolski’s signs. The settlement is an implicit acknowledgment by the city that the ordinance would not survive strict scrutiny.

The Ann Arbor city council voted at its Aug. 19, 2013 meeting to approve the settlement of the case, after holding a closed session under Michigan’s Open Meetings Act to discuss pending litigation.