Settlement in AATA Ad Lawsuit: No Costs
A settlement has now been reached in a lawsuit over the placing of an anti-Israel advertisement on Ann Arbor buses. The court’s July 17, 2013 settlement order states that the parties have agreed that the case will be “dismissed with prejudice and without costs or fees.” [.pdf of July 17, 2013 settlement order]
AATA Bus. Advertisements appear on the sides of buses. (Photo illustration by The Chronicle – which consists of applying a graphics filter and digitally adding the word “settlement” to an image that included the original text “out of service.”)
In an email responding to an inquiry from The Chronicle, American Civil Liberties Union attorney Dan Korobkin, who represented plaintiff Blaine Coleman in the case against the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority, stated: “After the court ruled that AATA’s advertising policy was unconstitutional, AATA made significant changes to its policy based on the ruling and current case law. Both sides decided that a settlement was appropriate, and we ultimately reached an agreement that worked for everyone.”
Korobkin added: “I am able to say that Mr. Coleman did not ask for any payment as part of the settlement, and that the ACLU accepted payment for some of its expenses and attorneys’ fees.”
In 2011, the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority had refused to place the ad on its buses as a part of its advertising program. The proposed ad reads “Boycott ‘Israel’” and “Boycott Apartheid” and features an image of a spider-like creature with a skull for a head. [.pdf of image and text of proposed ad]
According to AATA controller Phil Webb, the AATA is currently projecting that its net revenue from the advertising program – which is managed under a contract with CBS Outdoor Advertising – will come to about $276,000 for the fiscal year. This is the first year of the contract with CBS Outdoor. Compared with the previous contractor, CBS is generating about 2.5 times as much revenue to the AATA. [.pdf of billings through May 2013]
The lawsuit was filed by Coleman – an Ann Arbor resident who was represented by the ACLU – over a year and a half ago, on Nov. 28, 2011.
The case had remained in the preliminary injunction phase and had not yet proceeded to trial. Before the settlement, the most recent court action had come in early June, after a four-month pause in activity. In his June 4, 2013 ruling, federal judge Mark Goldsmith did not agree with the ACLU’s argument that the preliminary injunctive relief to which Coleman was entitled should take the form of placing the ad on AATA buses. [Full Story]