GEFT Outdoor, LLC v. City of Evansville, Indiana

Plaintiff filed a lawsuit challenging a city ordinance that distinguished between on-premises and off-premises signs. Plaintiff initially argued that the distinction was a form of content discrimination in violation of the first amendment, but after a Supreme Court opinion finding that such a distinction was not a form of content discrimination, the plaintiff re-focused its lawsuit to challenge the way that the ordinance regulated sign permits and variances, arguing that the city was likely to take into account the message of any proposed sign during that process. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants, concluding that the criteria for granting variances including restrictions on size and location were sufficiently specific. The Seventh Circuit, taking into account additional recent developments in the relevant law modified the district court’s judgment to clarify that plaintiff’s lawsuit failed on its merits and affirmed the modified judgment. (FLAUM and BRENNAN, concurring)