IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SEVENTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA CIVIL DIVISION CASE

NO. SOUTH FLORIDA GAY NEWS.COM,Inc., and SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS, Plaintiffs, VS. CITY OF FORT LAUDERDALE, a Florida Municipal Corporation, and FRANKLIN ADDERLY, in his capacity as the Chief of Police Of the City of Fort Lauderdale Defendants. _________________________________________________/ COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES, DECLARATORY JUDGMENT AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF Plaintiffs, South Florida Gay News, d/b/a SFGN.com (hereinafter SFGN), and the Society of Professional Journalists (hereinafter SPJ) sue Defendants, the City of Fort Lauderdale (hereinafter The City), and Franklin Adderly (hereinafter Adderly), in his capacity as Chief of Police, and alleges as follows: JURISDICTION AND PARTIES 1. This is an action for damages greater than $15,000.00, and for declaratory and injunctive relief. 2. All material acts and occurrences described herein occurred within the City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

3. This suit is brought pursuant to the First, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, which apply to the State of Florida via the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. 4. This complaint seeks declaratory and injunctive relief to prevent violations of the Plaintiffs rights, privileges and immunities under the Constitution of the United States, and specifically seeking redress for the deprivation under color of State statute, ordinance, regulation, custom or usage of rights, privileges and immunities secured by the Constitution and the laws of the United States. 5. At all times material to this complaint, the Defendant, the City of Fort Lauderdale, was and is a political subdivision of the State of Florida, whose authority to enforce applicable rules, regulations, codes, and statutes is governed and limited by the Florida and United States Constitutions. 6. At all times material to this complaint, Defendant, Franklin Adderly was the Chief of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, who is located within Broward County, Florida, and is charged with, amongst other responsibilities, the provision of law enforcement services therein and, at all time material hereto, was acting under color of state law and within the course and scope of his duties. 7. The Defendant, City of Fort Lauderdale, encompasses all parties and officials acting on its behalf, including all municipal zoning

officers, code enforcement officers, the mayor, the town manager, the city commission, the city attorney, all municipal law enforcement, regulatory and licensing agencies, employees, and all others acting in any agency or capacity with the Defendant or at the formal direction of the Defendant. 8. This Court has jurisdiction over the declaratory relief judgment action pursuant to Section 86.011 Fla. Stat. 9. Jurisdiction of this Court is further invoked pursuant to Section 26.012(3), Florida Statutes, and Rule 1.610, Fla.R.Civ.P., which grants the Circuit Courts jurisdiction to issue permanent and temporary injunctions. 10. This Court additionally has jurisdiction over this claim because the amount of damages alleged is greater than $15,000. 11. Because the Plaintiff is seeking immediate injunctive relief from the chilling of his constitutional rights, there is no necessity to comply with Florida Statute 768.28, and this complaint serves as notice of the claim. 12. The Plaintiff, SFGN, is an accredited Florida news corporation, and a member of the Florida Press Association, the Associated Press, and the National Gay and Lesbian Journalists Association. 13. The Plaintiff, SFGN, is headquartered in Wilton Manors, Florida, which is within Broward County, Florida, and covers newsworthy events in the local community.

14. The Plaintiff, SPJ, is an organization of professional journalists, including photojournalists, with a South Florida chapter that includes journalists and photojournalists who cover and report on newsworthy events within Broward County, Florida. 15. Jurisdiction and venue are appropriate and proper before this Court. FACTS 16. Beginning on or about June 6, 2011, a movie production crew began filming a feature motion picture based upon the musical Rock of Ages (hereinafter the film). 17. The film will feature a cast of internationally known A-list celebrities, including Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Julianne Hough, Paul Giamatti, and Mary J. Blige, amongst others. 18. The production of the film included filming at several locations within South Florida, including locations within the City of Fort Lauderdale. 19. The presence of the film production in the South Florida area, along with the all-star cast who arrived to create the film, has created significant interest in the local news media and the creation of the film has been covered in all major local media outlets. 20. The film, its creation in South Florida, and the presence of its celebrity cast in the area are newsworthy events which the local media is entitled to report on.

21. In order to aid and assist the filming of this production, the production company, in conjunction with the City, effectuated the closing of certain public streets and obtained permits to film in those locations. 22. No Trespassing signs have been erected around the filming location on Southwest 2nd Street within the City, with the authority and consent of the Defendants with the specific intended purpose of keeping persons not associated with the film out of the area where the filming is occurring. 23. Officers from the Fort Lauderdale Police Department have been stationed around the film set and adjacent to the signs in order to stand guard at the entrances to the film set, with the consent and permission of the City of Fort Lauderdale and the Chief of Police, and are enforcing the trespass warning stated on the sign. 24. The law enforcement officers are being remunerated for their services by the movie production company. 25. The No Trespassing signs which have been posted at the entrances to three city blocks and which law enforcement officers are enforcing contain a misrepresentation of state and local law, and present a false statement of law to the general public as well as members of the media, and operate to chill and deny First Amendment protections guaranteed under the Constitution of the United States of America.

26. Specifically, the No Trespassing signs read: a. Warning. No Trespassing. Photography of this area is strictly prohibited. Strictly enforced by FLPD. Violators subjet (sic) to arrest. City Ordinance 16-1 (photographic exhibit attached) 27. The sign cites to Fort Lauderdale City Ordinance 16-1, which does not state anything specific about photography or trespassing. 28. The City Ordinance section that addresses trespassing is Section 1671(c), which only speaks to entering upon designated property, but is totally silent on the issue of photographing that property from outside the designated area. 29. Section 16-71(d), provides an exception to the operation of that Code section which states "this section shall not apply to peaceful picketing, public speaking or other constitutionally protected speech not in contravention of other laws." 30. Newsgathering and photography are forms of constitutionally protected speech and receive protection under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. 31. During the week of June 6-10, 2011, the Plaintiff, SFGN, seeking to report on the newsworthy presence of the movies filming and its celebrity cast, sent a designated correspondent with a camera to photograph the film location and capture and report on the atmosphere of the event.

32. The SFGN correspondent was prevented from photographing the filming location had his civil liberties infringed by the imminent threat of an unconstitutional and illegal arrest by police patrolling the site. 33. The prohibition against photography at the filming location has been extended by the Defendants to include persons who do not even enter upon the designated filming area and is being imposed upon those persons who attempt to photograph the location from positions well outside of the designated No Trespassing area. 34. As a direct and proximate result of these unconstitutional actions, SFGNs ability to engage in reporting of newsworthy events was compromised and curtailed and SFGN has suffered damage to its ability to report on local newsworthy events and to fully operate as a commercial media outlet. 35. The Plaintiff, SPJ, is a trade organization comprised of numerous journalists and photographers and the South Florida branch of that organization includes many such journalists and photographers who work in Broward County and who actively report on newsworthy events occurring within the City of Fort Lauderdale. 36. Members of SPJ have been deterred and curtailed from effectively covering the newsworthy events surrounding the filming of Rock of Ages in the City of Fort Lauderdale by the Defendants unconstitutional ban on photography at or near the film set and the

enforcement of the same under threat of arrest by the Fort Lauderdale Police Department. 37. The Defendants have not limited their unconstitutional ban on photography to only members of the media, but have additionally imposed the same upon members of the public by imposing the ban on anyone with a camera, cell phone, or visual recording device. 38. The Plaintiffs, newsgathering organizations, photographers and the citizens of Fort Lauderdale remain in imminent danger of criminal prosecution in violation of their constitutionally protected rights by enforcement of an ordinance that is being publicly misrepresented and is not within the purview of the law. 39. The continued and ongoing unconstitutional ban on photography operates to chill the First Amendment protected conduct and newsgathering activities of the Plaintiffs. 40. The Plaintiffs have now been required to incur reasonable legal fees and costs to pursue this matter in Court, as a direct result of the Defendants egregious constitutional violations. COUNT I INJUNCTIVE RELIEF 41. The Plaintiffs re-allege paragraphs 1-40, as if fully set forth herein. 42. The Plaintiff, SFGN, is a bona fide news organization and media outlet and has the constitutional right to cover, photograph and report on newsworthy events.

43. The Plaintiff, SPJ, is an organization of journalists and photojournalists who have the constitutional right to cover, photograph, and report on newsworthy events. 44. The filming of Rock of Ages within the City is a newsworthy event to which the Plaintiffs have a constitutional right to report on and that right includes the right to photograph the scene of that filming and the surrounding area. 45. The Defendants actions in prohibiting the taking of photographs at the scene of the filming and the erecting of signs around the film set that threaten arrest for the taking of such photographs is a direct violation of the Plaintiffs constitutional rights. 46. The Defendants have no legal authority to support the purported ban on photography at the filming location and are misconstruing and misapplying Sections 16-1 and 16-17 of the City of Fort Lauderdale Code of Ordinances in their attempt to justify the unconstitutional photography ban. 47. The Defendants conduct has a direct chilling effect upon the exercise of First Amendment protected rights that include the right of the press to gather information on newsworthy subjects and report upon those subjects. 48. The Plaintiffs First Amendment rights include the right to photograph events occurring in public places and to publish those photographs within the Plaintiffs publication.

WHEREFORE the Plaintiff requests that this Honorable Court enter judgment in favor the Plaintiffs and award Injunctive Relief, including an order enjoining the Defendants from enforcing their purported ban on photography at the filming location of the Rock of Ages movie set, as well and any other legal remedies this Court believes are appropriate. COUNT II DECLARATORY RELIEF 49. The Plaintiffs re-allege paragraphs 1-40, as if fully set forth herein. 50. The Plaintiff, SFGN, is a bona fide news organization and media outlet and has the constitutional right to cover, photograph and report on newsworthy events. 51. The Plaintiff, SPJ, is an organization of journalists and photojournalists who have the constitutional right to cover, photograph, and report on newsworthy events. 52. The filming of Rock of Ages within the City is a newsworthy event to which the Plaintiffs have a constitutional right to report on and that right includes the right to photograph the scene of that filming and the surrounding area. 53. The Defendants actions in prohibiting the taking of photographs at the scene of the filming and the erecting of signs around the film set that threaten arrest for the taking of such photographs is a direct violation of the Plaintiffs constitutional rights.

54. The Defendants have no legal authority to support the purported ban on photography at the filming location and are misconstruing and misapplying Sections 16-1 and 16-17 of the City of Fort Lauderdale Code of Ordinances in their attempt to justify the unconstitutional photography ban. 55. The Defendants conduct has a direct chilling effect upon the exercise of First Amendment protected rights that include the right of the press to gather information on newsworthy subjects and report upon those subjects. 56. The Plaintiffs First Amendment rights include the right to photograph events occurring in public places and to publish those photographs within the Plaintiffs publication. WHEREFORE the Plaintiffs request that this Honorable Court enter judgment in favor the Plaintiffs and award Declaratory Judgment and delcare that the Defendants purported ban on photography at the filming location of the Rock of Ages movie set is an unconstitutional violation of the Plaintiffs First Amendment rights, as well and any other legal remedies this Court believes are appropriate. COUNT III VIOLATION OF FIRST AMENDMENT DAMAGES 57. The Plaintiffs re-allege paragraphs 1-40, as if fully set forth herein. 58. The Plaintiff, SFGN, is a bona fide news organization and media outlet and has the constitutional right to cover, photograph and report on newsworthy events.

59. The Plaintiff, SFGN, operates a weekly alternative newspaper and magazine that covers news, arts, and entertainment topics on a local and national level, with a particular focus on areas that interest the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered communities. 60. The Plaintiff, SFGN, planned to devote a portion of its coverage in early June, 2011, to the filming of Rock of Ages within the City of Fort Lauderdale. 61. The filming of a feature motion picture featuring numerous A-list celebrities within the City of Fort Lauderdale is a newsworthy event and the Plaintiff, SFGN, desired to cover that event within its publication. 62. The Plaintiff, SFGN, has a constitutionally protected right to gather and disseminate news, including a right to photograph events interest that are occurring in public places. 63. The Defendants ban on photography at and around the film set of Rock of Ages has no basis in law and has violated the Plaintiff, SFGNs, ability to cover that event in a timely and thorough manner. 64. The Defendants unconstitutional actions have prevented and precluded the Plaintiff, SFGN, from engaging in its right to report on a newsworthy event in a timely manner and has therefore caused SFGN to suffer damages and losses to its ability to generate income as a commercial news source.

WHEREFORE the Plaintiff, SFGN, requests that this Honorable Court enter judgment in favor the Plaintiff and award damages for the Defendants unconstitutional violation of the Plaintiffs right to report on newsworthy events occurring in public places and any other legal remedies this Court believes are appropriate. COUNT IV 1983 CLAIM 65. The Plaintiff re-alleges paragraphs 1-40, as if fully set forth herein. 66. The Plaintiff has a first amendment right to photograph matters of public interest, including the filming of a major motion picture, in the City of Fort Lauderdale. 67. Defendants have violated and continue to violate the Plaintiffs first amendment newsgathering rights when it posts or acquiesces in the posting of a notice suggesting imminent arrest may occur while that citizen is engaging in activity protected by the First Amendment, for which 42 U.S.C. Section 1983 provides a remedy. 68. The Defendants, and their agents, have acted under color of law in violating the Plaintiffs constitutional right to report on and photograph newsworthy events and matters of public interest. 69. The Defendant has violated its own ordinances by allowing Section 16-1 to be used as a catch-all for illegal trespassing arrests, when it knew or should have acted in accord with the governing law. 70. The Plaintiff seeks a declaration and remuneration thereof.

WHEREFORE the Plaintiffs request that this Honorable Court enter judgment in favor the Plaintiff and declare that the Defendants have unconstitutionally infringed upon the Plaintiffs First Amendment rights to cover and report on newsworthy events and have violated the Plaintiffs rights under 42 U.S.C. 1983, and to award reasonable attorneys fees and costs, and any other legal remedies this Court believes are appropriate. DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL The Plaintiffs hereby demand a trial by Jury.

KENT AND CORMICAN, P.A. Attorneys for the Plaintiffs 110 SE 6th Street, Suite 1970 Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301 (954) 763-1900 _____________________________ By: Norman Elliott Kent, Esq. Florida Bar No. 271969