United States Fifth Circuit

A permanent injunction enjoining a city from enforcing, as unconstitutional, its ordinance regulating street vendors and door-to-door solicitors, is vacated in part, reversed in part, and remanded where: 1) plaintiffs-newspapers had standing for their claims; 2) the injunction need not be vacated based on mootness because the mootness was due to the city's voluntarily repealing portions of the ordinance; 3) as one provision has never been applied to the newspapers, and because its plain language was non-discriminatory and content-neutral, the district court erred in holding it unconstitutional, both facially and as applied; and 4) since the newspapers obtained the primary relief they sought in district court, they remained prevailing parties and were entitled to attorney's fees.

Appellate Information

• Decided 05/30/2007
• Published 05/30/2007

Judges

• RHESA HAWKINS BARKSDALE, Circuit Judge:, Before JONES, Chief Judge, and WIENER and BARKSDALE, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Fifth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Jonathan R. Donnellan (argued), The Hearst Corp., New York City, Joel R. White, Austin, TX, for Houston Chronicle., Charles Anthony Daughtry, Daughtry & Jordan, Houston, TX, for Galveston County Daily News., Mark C. Watler (argued), Arnold G. Polanco (argued), Ross, Banks, May, Cron & Cavin, Ramon Gustave Viada, III, Abrams, Scott & Bickley, Houston, TX, for City of League City.