Facts

Matthew Dowd, Peter Demian, Edward La Grossa, Anthony Brown, Nathan Pino, Willie Turner, David Saltsburg, Louie Garcia, and Rene Castro sued the City of Los Angeles in connection with a beach vending ordinances regulating plaintiffs' activities at the Venice boardwalk, and rules regulating speakers at Los Angeles City Council meetings.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS:
In particular, plaintiffs challenged the "Amplified Sound Ban" and the "Rules of Decorum." The ban prohibited amplified sound on certain spots along the boardwalk. The Rules of Decorum concerned the rules pertaining to the conduct of those addressing the city council.

Plaintiffs were artists and performers who performed at the Venice boardwalk. They contended that the ordinances violated their First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights because they either impinged on their right to communicate or were otherwise impermissible vague. Plaintiffs contended that they have been subject to content-based enforcement under the Rules of Decorum, and that it was being used to silence them.

The district court held the Amplified Sound Ban was unconstitutional on its face and the Rules of Decorum were applied unconstitutionally in ten incidents in violation of the First Amendment.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
The city contended that the amplified sound restrictions did not preclude the boardwalk performances with amplification and that none of the plaintiffs were harmed by the regulation. As to Dowd and Saltsburg's challenge of the Rules of Decorum, the city contended that neither plaintiff suffered any actual injury.

Result

The jury rendered a verdict in favor of plaintiffs, and awarded them nominal damages. The jury awarded Dowd $2 in damages, Demian $1, La Grossa $1, Brown $1, Pino $1, Saltsburg $2, Garcia $1, and Castro $1.