Clear Channel Outdoor, Inc. v. Mayor of Baltimore

153 F. Supp. 3d 865, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 171989, 2015 WL 9460103
CourtDistrict Court, D. Maryland
DecidedDecember 28, 2015
DocketCivil Action No. GLR-13-2379
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 153 F. Supp. 3d 865 (Clear Channel Outdoor, Inc. v. Mayor of Baltimore) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Clear Channel Outdoor, Inc. v. Mayor of Baltimore, 153 F. Supp. 3d 865, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 171989, 2015 WL 9460103 (D. Md. 2015).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

George L. Russell, III, United States District Judge

THIS MATTER is before the Court on Plaintiffs, Clear Channel Outdoor, Inc. (“Clear Channel”), Motion for Summary Judgment and Defendant’s, Mayor and City Council of Baltimore (the “City”), Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment. (ECF Nos. 37, 38). Principally at issue is whether Baltimore City Ordinance 13-139 (the “Billboard Ordinance”), which levies select outdoor advertising displays in the city, constitutes a tax under the Tax Injunction Act (“TIA”), 28 U.S.C. § 1341 (2012).

The Court, having reviewed the Motions and supporting documents, finds no hearing necessary. See Local Rule 105.6 (D.Md.2014). For the reasons outlined below, the Court will deny Clear Channel’s Motion for Summary Judgment and grant the City’s Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment.

I. BACKGROUND1

The Billboard Ordinance became law in June 2013. See Balt., Md., Ordinance 13-139 (Jun. 17, 2013) (codified as amended at Balt., Md., Code art. 28, §§ 29 et seq. (2014)). The Baltimore City Council enacted it for “the purpose of imposing a tax on the privilege of exhibiting outdoor advertising displays in the City.” Id. at 1:2-3. Clear Channel owns and operates approximately ninety-five percent of the advertising displays subject to the Billboard Ordinance. It alleges the Billboard Ordinance will cost it $1.5 million annually.

On August 14, 2013, Clear Channel filed a Complaint alleging the Billboard Ordinance impermissibly regulates commercial speech in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. (ECF No. 1). Clear Channel seeks a declaratory judgment that the Billboard Ordinance is unconstitutional and an order enjoining the City from enforcing it. The City moved to dismiss the action on September 19, 2013, arguing this Court did not have subject-matter jurisdiction because the Billboard Ordinance is a “tax” under the TIA. (ECF No. 15). The Court denied the City’s Motion to Dismiss on May 19, 2014, explaining that “at least at th[at] stage of the litigation, the ordinance [was] a fee, not a tax, for the purposes of the TIA.” (Mem. Op. at 2, ECF No. 21). The City filed a Motion for Reconsideration (ECF No. 23), which the Court denied on August 19, 2014 (ECF No. 26).

Clear Channel filed a Motion for Summary Judgment on April 3, 2015. (ECF [869]*869No. 37). The City responded by filing an Opposition to the Motion for Summary Judgment and Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment on April 20, 2015. (ECF No. 38). Clear Channel then submitted an Opposition to the City’s Motion for Summary Judgment and Reply supporting its Motion for Summary Judgment on May 7, 2015. (ECF No. 39). Finally, the City submitted a Reply to Clear Channel’s Opposition on May 26, 2015. (ECF No. 40).

II. DISCUSSION

A. Standard of Review

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56, the Court must grant summary judgment if the moving party demonstrates there is no genuine issue as to any material fact, and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). In reviewing a motion for summary judgment, the Court views the facts in a light most favorable to the non-moving party. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986) (citing Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 157, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970)).

Once a motion for summary judgment is properly made and supported, the opposing party has the burden of showing that a genuine dispute exists. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586-87, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). Rule 56(c) requires the nonmoving party to go beyond the pleadings and by its own affidavits, or by the depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, designate specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The nonmoving party “cannot create a genuine issue of material fact through mere speculation or the building of one inference upon another.” Beale v. Hardy, 769 F.2d 213, 214 (4th Cir.1985) (citing Barwick v. Celotex Corp., 736 F.2d 946, 963 (4th Cir.1984)).

“[T]he mere existence of some alleged factual dispute between the parties will not defeat an otherwise properly supported motion for summary judgment; the requirement is that there be no genuine issue of material fact.” Anderson, 477 U.S. at 247-48, 106 S.Ct. 2505. A “material fact” is one that might affect the outcome of a party’s case. Id. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505; see also JKC Holding Co. v. Wash. Sports Ventures, Inc., 264 F.3d 459, 465 (4th Cir.2001) (citing Hooven-Lewis v. Caldera, 249 F.3d 259, 265 (4th Cir.2001)). Whether a fact is considered to be “material” is determined by the substantive law, and “[o]nly disputes over-facts that might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law will properly preclude the entry of summary judgment.” Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505; accord Hooven-Lewis, 249 F.3d at 265. A “genuine” issue concerning a “material” fact arises when the evidence is sufficient to allow a reasonable jury to return a verdict in the non-moving party’s favor. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505.

When the parties have filed cross-motions for summary judgment, the court must “review each motion separately on its own merits to ‘determine whether either of the parties deserves judgment as a matter of law.’ ” Rossignol v. Voorhaar, 316 F.3d 516, 523 (4th Cir.2003) (quoting Philip Morris Inc. v. Harshbarger, 122 F.3d 58, 62 n. 4 (1st Cir.1997)). Moreover, “[w]hen considering each individual motion, the court must take care to ‘resolve all factual disputes and any competing, rational inferences in the light most favorable’ to the party opposing that motion.” Id. (quoting Wightman v. Springfield Terminal Ry. Co., [870]*870100 F.3d 228, 230 (1st Cir.1996)). This Court, however, must also - abide by its affirmative obligation to prevent factually unsupported claims and defenses from going to trial. Drewitt v. Pratt, 999 F.2d 774, 778-79 (4th Cir.1993). If the evidence presented by the nonmoving party is merely colorable, or is not significantly probative, summary judgment must be granted. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505.

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Related

Clear Channel Outdoor v. Dept. of Finance
472 Md. 444 (Court of Appeals of Maryland, 2021)
Clear Channel Outdoor v. Dir., Dept. of Finance Balt. City
223 A.3d 1050 (Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, 2020)

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153 F. Supp. 3d 865, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 171989, 2015 WL 9460103, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/clear-channel-outdoor-inc-v-mayor-of-baltimore-mdd-2015.