Los Angeles has had a long and controversial history dealing with billboard issues, most recently brought to light in the Second District Court of Appeal decision in Summit Media v. City of Los Angeles (12/10/12), a case in which the real parties in interest were CBS Outdoor Inc. and Clear Channel Outdoor Inc. (the “Billboard Companies”).

The genesis of the case was a group of municipal ordinances passed in 200 and 2002 that, among other things, prohibited “alterations or enlargements” of existing billboards. The Billboard Companies sued after the City passed the ordinances. This led to a settlement agreement in 2006 under which the Billboard Companies were exempt from many of the restrictions and requirements stated in the ordinances. As a result, the Billboard Companies converted some of their inventory into digital billboards.