Advertising Law
After lawyer sues airport for banning harassment practice ad, it now takes up 2 walls
After officials at a Syracuse, New York, airport refused to place an attorney’s small sign advertising her sexual harassment law firm’s services, she sued—and she now has a massive ad covering two walls. (Image from Shutterstock)
After officials at a Syracuse, New York, airport refused to place an attorney’s small sign advertising her sexual harassment law firm’s services, she sued—and she now has a massive ad covering two walls, according to Syracuse.com.
Lawyer Megan Thomas’ ad, which contains the original wording, “When HR called it ‘Harmless Flirting…’ We called it Exhibit A,” now dwarfs Thomas as she stands next to it in the Syracuse Hancock Regional Airport, according to the story, and a second sign hangs over the JetBlue ticket counter.
Thomas and the airport settled after she filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, according to coverage by Law360. The airport authority argued that Thomas’ ad was false and inflammatory, but U.S. Judge Anthony Brindisi of the Northern District of New York determined that the ban violated the First Amendment, according to Syracuse.com.
The two parties reached a settlement, which “permits both parties to return focus to their core corporate purposes,” a representative for the airport authority told Syracuse.com, but Thomas said she could not discuss it.
Since the new, bigger sign was put up, women from JetBlue asked to be in a picture with her under the sign near their ticket counter, Thomas told Syracuse.com, and she’s hired another attorney and an assistant to handle an onslaught of new business.
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