The WMC Litigation Center filed this lawsuit in April 2023 on behalf of four City of Neenah residents and taxpayers. This lawsuit challenges Neenah’s highly restrictive and anti-business sign ordinance on First Amendment free speech grounds. This lawsuit challenged seven provisions in the city’s sign ordinance: (1) a ban on “advertising vehicles,” (2) a ban on “off-premises signs,” (3) a one-sign limit for lawn signs, (4) a 30-day limit for lawn signs, (5) a permit requirement for certain signs, (6) a ban on “offensive” signs near an athletic field, and (7) a ban on pre-election-campaign political signs. When Neenah revised its sign ordinance in October 2023, it repealed the ban on offensive signs and the ban on pre-election-campaign political signs, but it left the other five challenged provisions intact.
In May 2024, the Winnebago County Circuit Court struck down all five of those provisions for violating the First Amendment right to free speech. Because this lawsuit raised federal constitutional claims, the court also awarded attorney fees under 42 U.S.C. § 1988 to the WMC Litigation Center. Courts rarely award attorney fees, so the WMC Litigation Center’s attorney-fee award was significant.
