Eastwood Mall, Inc. v. Slanco

1994 Ohio 433
CourtOhio Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 8, 1994
Docket1991-2200
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 1994 Ohio 433 (Eastwood Mall, Inc. v. Slanco) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Eastwood Mall, Inc. v. Slanco, 1994 Ohio 433 (Ohio 1994).

Opinion

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Eastwood Mall, Inc. et al., Appellees, v. Slanco, Appellant. [Cite as Eastwood Mall, Inc. v. Slanco (1994), Ohio St.3d .] Constitutional law -- Injunction prohibiting "picketing, patrolling, handbilling, soliciting, or engaging in any other similar activities" on privately owned shopping center property not a violation of Section 11, Article I of the Ohio Constitution. An injunction prohibiting "picketing, patrolling, handbilling, soliciting, or engaging in any other similar activities" on the property of a privately owned shopping center is not an unconstitutional prior restraint on speech in violation of Section 11, Article I of the Ohio Constitution. (No. 91-2200 -- Submitted October 12, 1993 -- Decided February 9, 1994.) Appeal from the Court of Appeals for Trumbull County, No. 90-T-4433. Plaintiffs-appellees, Eastwood Mall, Inc. and Great East Mall, Inc., commenced an action against appellant, Michael Slanco, for injunctive relief against his repeated and continuing trespass on their properties. The appellees are private owners of two adjacent shopping centers known as Eastwood Mall and Great East Plaza, in Niles, Ohio. Appellant Slanco repeatedly engaged in picketing and handbilling on appellees' properties, which appellees claimed created congestion and an increased amount of litter. Appellant often wore a sandwich board bearing the message, "Eating at McDonald's is hazardous to your health," and similar messages. At various times, other persons joined appellant in these activities. Many people complained about the activities of appellant. Appellees enforce a nondiscriminatory policy against all handbilling, picketing, soliciting, and similar activities without their permission on their properties. Appellees requested appellant to leave their properties but he refused to do so. The Niles police refused to enforce the criminal statute against appellant. After a three-day trial, the trial court granted the injunction to enjoin appellant from handbilling, picketing, soliciting, or engaging in similar activities on appellees' properties. The court of appeals unanimously affirmed the trial court's judgment. This matter is now before this court upon an allowance of a motion to certify the record.

David A. Fantauzzi, for appellees. Kevin F. O'Neill and Staughton Lynd, for appellant. Ronald G. Galip and Edward J. Sack, urging affirmance for amici curiae, International Council of of Shopping Centers, Inc., Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation, Forest City Enterprises, Inc., Glimcher Company, and Richards & David Jacobs Group, Inc. Green, Haines, Sgambati, Murphy & Macala Co., L.P.A., Anthony P. Sgambati II and Barry Laine, urging reversal for amicus curiae, United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Ohio State Council, AFL-CIO.

Francis E. Sweeney, Sr., J. The issue before this court is whether an injunction prohibiting "picketing, patrolling, handbilling, soliciting, or engaging in any other similar activities" on the property of a privately owned shopping center is an unconstitutional prior restraint on speech in violation of Section 11, Article I of the Ohio Constitution. For the following reasons, we find that it does not violate the Ohio Constitution, and, accordingly, affirm the judgment of the court of appeals. The law is well settled that there is no right under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution for any person to use a privately owned shopping center as a forum to communicate on any subject without the permission of the property owner. Hudgens v. NLRB (1976), 424 U.S. 507, 96 S.Ct. 1029, 47 L.Ed.2d 196; Lloyd Corp. v. Tanner (1972), 407 U.S. 551, 92 S.Ct. 2219, 33 L.Ed.2d 131. A state may adopt greater protections for free speech on private property than the First Amendment does, so long as those broader protections do not conflict with the private property owner's constitutional rights under the First, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. Pruneyand Shopping Ctr. v. Robins (1980), 447 U.S. 74, 100 S.Ct. 2035, 64 L.Ed.2d 741. Appellant argues that Section 11, Article I of the Ohio Constitution should be interpreted to prohibit a privately owned shopping center from restricting free speech, because while both provisions contain a clause stating that no law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech, or of the press, only Section 11, Article I begins with the clause: "Every citizen may freely speak, write, and publish his sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of the right." Appellant claims that this section prohibits a private party as well as a government from restraining the right of any citizen to speak freely. However, this court has previously concluded that the free speech guarantees accorded by the Ohio Constitution are no broader than the First Amendment, and that the First Amendment is the proper basis for interpretation of Section 11, Article I of the Ohio Constitution. State ex rel. Rear Door Bookstore v. Tenth Dist. Court of Appeals (1992), 63 Ohio St.3d 354, 362-363, 588 N.E.2d 116, 123; Zacchini v. Scripps-Howard Broadcasting Co. (1978), 54 Ohio St.2d 286, 288, 8 O.O.3d 265, 266, 376 N.E.2d 582, 583; State v. Kassay (1932), 126 Ohio St. 177, 187, 184 N.E. 521, 525. Furthermore, while Section 11 has an additional clause not found in the First Amendment, the plain language of this section, when read in its entirety, bans only the passing of a law that would restrain or abridge the liberty of speech. When the First Amendment does not protect speech that infringes on private property rights, Section 11 does not protect that speech either. Zacchini v. Scripps- Howard Broadcasting Co., 54 Ohio St.2d at 288, 8 O.O.3d at 266, 376 N.E.2d at 583. Thus, under the facts of this case, we find that Section 11, Article I of the Ohio Constitution is no broader than the First Amendment. This conclusion was reached by several appellate courts in Ohio which have also read Section 11 as prohibiting only state action that restricts free speech. These courts have held that Section 11 does not prevent a private property owner from excluding an unwanted speaker from its property. Cleveland v. Sundermeier (1989), 48 Ohio App.3d 204, 207, 549 N.E.2d 561, 564; Columbus v. Kasper (Dec. 23, 1987), Franklin App. No. 87AP-508, unreported, 1987 WL 31290; Akron v. Wendell (1990), 70 Ohio App.3d 35, 590 N.E.2d 380.

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