Filed Date: Sept. 5, 2017
Case Ongoing
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On September 5, 2017, a group of citizens in Ohio sued an elected county representative in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio for allegedly violating their First Amendment rights when he banned them from his Facebook page. The Facebook page was one of the representative’s primary means of communicating with constituents about local issues and was commonly used to address issues of concern to Township residents. Each citizen involved in the lawsuit had their comments deleted and were banned from commenting on the page by the representative, who was offended by their criticism of his handling of public issues. Represented by private counsel, Plaintiffs claimed that this violated their First Amendment rights as it engaged in viewpoint discrimination and banned Plaintiffs from a digital forum for criticizing elected officials. Plaintiffs sought (1) a declaratory judgment that states their First Amendment rights were violated by the Township representative’s actions, (2) injunctive relief prohibiting the representative from banning Plaintiffs in violation of free speech guarantees, and (3) monetary damages and attorney’s fees. This case was assigned to District Judge Susan J. Dlott.
On October 24, 2017, a settlement was presented to the Court and Judge Susan J. Dlott approved it shortly thereafter. This judgment ordered the Hamilton Township elected representative to remove any bans on anyone trying to view his Facebook page and prohibited him from banning anyone else in the future, from either the Facebook page or any other of his social media sites being used as a tool of governance. However, banning would still be allowed in instances of credible threats, hate speech, degradation or shaming, or any other violations of the respective social media’s terms of service. The settlement also agreed to reward Plaintiffs any reasonable attorneys fees, expert fees, and costs incurred by Plaintiffs in enforcing the judgment.
Summary Authors
Kathleen Lok (9/22/2022)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/14500004/parties/wilson-v-wallace/
Dlott, Susan J. (Ohio)
Dlott, Susan J. (Ohio)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/14500004/wilson-v-wallace/
Last updated March 8, 2024, 3:03 a.m.
State / Territory: Ohio
Case Type(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: Sept. 5, 2017
Case Ongoing: Yes
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
A group of citizens of Hamilton Township, Ohio, who had their comments deleted and were banned from commenting on an elected representative's Facebook page.
Plaintiff Type(s):
Public Interest Lawyer: No
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
David Wallace (Hamilton), Private Entity/Person
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2201
Ex parte Young (federal or state officials)
Constitutional Clause(s):
Available Documents:
Injunctive (or Injunctive-like) Relief
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Court Approved Settlement or Consent Decree
Order Duration: 2017 - None