Skytag - Ban Billboard Blight

Legal Wars: Sign Company Attorneys Plot New Attacks On L.A. Regulations

World Wide Rush supergraphic on Wilshire Blvd. ( Photo from June 23, 2010)

Apparently undaunted by a federal appellate court decision upholding the city’s right to ban new off-site and supergraphic signs, attorneys for sign companies have signaled their intention to mount fresh challenges to the ban that has been the subject of almost constant litigation since its original passage eight years ago.

This post was written by dennis on July 25, 2010

Ban on New Supergraphic Signs in Hollywood Contains Huge Exemption, Includes Signs That Would Cover Apartment Windows

View of supergraphic sign on Metropolitan Hotel apartment project above Hollywood freeway. Sign simulation by Skytag, Inc.

L.A. City Councilman Eric Garcetti’s proposal to ban new supergraphic signs in the Hollywood sign district would exempt a total of 31,000 sq. ft. of the signage that has won some form of city approval, but hasn’t been issued permits by the city building department. Included is a 5,700 sq. ft. sign that would cover many of the windows on a 12-story apartment building clearly visible from the nearby Hollywood freeway.

This post was written by dennis on July 14, 2010

Appeals Court Won’t Reconsider Ruling Upholding L.A. Supergraphic Sign Ban

Site of supergraphic sign on building overlooking Hollywood freeway

The 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals has decided against granting World Wide Rush and Skytag, Inc. an “En Banc” rehearing of last May’s ruling upholding the constitutionality of L.A.’s ban on off-site and supergraphic advertising signs. The companies’ only recourse now in their three-year old attack on the city’s sign ordinance is to file a writ of certiorari asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the appeals court ruling.

This post was written by dennis on July 8, 2010

The Naked City: More Supergraphic Signs Disappear

Supergraphic "Sex and the City 2" ad put up by Skytag, Inc. being removed from Santa Monica Blvd. office building

Northbound travelers on the 405 freeway in West L.A. might be asking what happened to the supergraphic signs that used to be stretched across the face of a 12-story office building on adjacent Sepulveda Blvd., advertising such products as movies, cellphones, fast food, soft drinks, and trips to Hawaii.

This post was written by dennis on June 28, 2010

Petition Filed For Rehearing of 9th Circuit Panel’s World Wide Rush Decision

Kim Wardlaw, the 9th Circuit judge who authored the three-judge panel's decision in the World Wide Rush case

Attorneys for Skytag, Inc. have asked the 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals for an “En Banc” rehearing of last month’s ruling by a three-judge panel that overturned a lower court decision invalidating L.A.’s ban on off-site and supergraphic signs. If granted, the appeal would be heard by 11 members of the 29-judge circuit.

The original lawsuit challenging the city’s sign ordinance was filed by World Wide Rush, a Pennsylvania company that started wrapping buildings with the multi-story fabric and vinyl advertising signs in 2006 without getting any permits. After U.S. District Judge Audrey Collins ruled in favor of the company in August, 2008, Skytag and a number of other sign companies filed similar lawsuits, and the Skytag suit was combined with the World Wide Rush suit after the city appealed the judge’s decision to the 9^th Circuit.

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Posted under Billboards, Skytag, World Wide Rush

This post was written by dennis on June 14, 2010

World Wide Rush Ruling: Game Over For Rogue Sign Companies?

Two supergraphics protected by federal court injunctions issued in 2008, but lifted by the appeals court ruling. Left, sign by Skytag, Inc.; right, by World Wide Rush

Does yesterday’s decision by the 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals upholding the city’s right to ban off-site, supergraphic, and freeway-facing advertising signs mean that impresarios of blight like Barry Rush of World Wide Rush and Michael McNeilly of Skytag, Inc. will be packing up their multi-story building wraps and heading out of town? To shed some light on that question, and other issues relevant to yesterday’s eagerly-awaited court ruling, we conducted the following Q&A with ourselves.

This post was written by dennis on May 27, 2010

How Was This Eight-Story Supergraphic Ad For a Movie Permitted as an “On-Site” Sign?

"On-Site" supergraphic sign, left, locked office door, right

The supergraphic sign above for the movie “Prince of Persia” on a Westwood office building is legally permitted as an on-site sign, which the L.A. sign code defines as a sign directing attention to a product or service generally sold or offered on the premises where the sign is located. There is no movie theater in the Wilshire Blvd. building, or the offices of the movie production company, so how can the sign be considered legally equivalent to the sign on the local hardware store or dry cleaners?

This post was written by dennis on March 17, 2010

FRAUD: Another Site by “Defender of Artistic Freedom” Goes Commercial

Supergraphics on building at 4929 Wilshire Blvd. A third face is covered with a statue of liberty image.

Back in October, we asked the question–What will be next?– for a Wilshire Blvd. office building displaying a multi-story supergraphic image of the Statue of Liberty, the calling card of Michael McNeilly, self-proclaimed artist and owner of Skytag, Inc. That question was answered last week by the appearance of supergraphic commercial ads for a Style Channel TV program on two faces of the building.

See related article here and here.

Posted under Billboards, Michael McNeilly, Skytag, Supergraphics

This post was written by dennis on March 8, 2010

Supergraphic Signs: Carmen Trutanich, the Code of Hammurabi, and Excessive Bail

Detail of bolts and cable holding supergraphic sign on Hollywood Blvd. building. City Attorney Carmen Trutanich said the 8-story sign could pose a hazard to people on the street below.

The highly-charged debate about the $1 million bail set for a man accused of allowing an illegal supergraphic sign on his Hollywood Blvd. building brings to mind the 2,500-year old Code of Hammurabi, which prescribed a penalty of death for any builder who put up a house that fell down and killed its owner. This is thought to be the beginning of building codes, and the modern system of permits and inspectors that embodies the idea that people should not have to rely on builders and property owners to assure them that the structures they live and work in and pass by in the streets won’t cave in on their heads or easily burst into flames.

This post was written by dennis on March 4, 2010

Legal Wars: Judge Puts Sign Company Lawsuits on Hold Pending Appeals Court Ruling

Federal Judge Audrey Collins

More than a dozen sign company lawsuits against the city of Los Angeles have been stayed by U.S. District Judge Audrey Collins pending a decision by the 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals on her ruling that the city’s 2002 ban on off-site advertising signs is unconstitutional.

This post was written by dennis on January 18, 2010

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