MORGANTOWN – Attorneys representing the plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit against Monongalia County Commissioners Jeff Arnett, Tom Bloom and Sean Sikora, and Sheriff Todd Forbes, have asked U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Klee to issue a partial summary judgment in their favor.
The lawsuit in question was filed in December 2024 in response to the Oct. 25, 2023, passage of the county’s Pedestrian and Vehicle Safety Ordinance by the Monongalia County Commission.
Filed by attorneys with nonprofit legal advocacy group Mountain State Justice on behalf of Chris Peterson, Becky Rodd and others similarly situated, the lawsuit states the ordinance violates the plaintiff’s First Amendment right to freedom of speech “because it prohibits them and others like them from asking for donations or giving donations in public areas where those protected activities were common before its passage.”
The ordinance includes a number of prohibitions for both pedestrians within a right-of-way and vehicle passengers, making it illegal for pedestrians to stand, sit or physically remain within a roadway for any reason apart from crossing the road. It also makes it illegal for both pedestrians and vehicle passengers to interact and pass or exchange items.
Members of the commission noted the law doesn’t target specific speech or activity, but outlaws any activity from taking place within a public right-of-way.
The resulting lawsuit noted that while the word “panhandling” was scrubbed from the law during its formation, its origin and the intended targets are clear.
Advocacy groups like Mountain State Justice and the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia called it “an infringement upon free speech dressed up in language meant to obscure the commission’s intent: To ban panhandling, for solicitors and drivers alike, on county roadways.”
The March 27 filing in the U.S. District Court for West Virginia’s Northern District asks the court for a partial summary judgment on the first of three counts listed in the original lawsuit – that the law in question violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
The motion seeks the following relief:
- Entry of a class-wide judgment declaring the Pedestrian and Vehicle Safety Ordinance (Ordinance 2023-1) unconstitutional.
- Entry of a class-wide judgment barring the defendants or anyone acting on their behalf from enforcing the ordinance, including any pending or ongoing prosecutions under the law.
- Entry of an order finding the defendants liable to Peterson for violation of his First Amendment Rights.
- Entry of an order finding the defendants liable for court costs and attorney fees.
The Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute defines a partial summary judgment as a pretrial adjudication that certain issues shall be deemed established prior to the trial of the case.
According to the motion for partial summary judgment filed in this case, if granted, the trial on the matter would be largely limited to establishing the damages, costs and attorney fees owed by the county.
The bench trial is scheduled to begin in August, according to court filings.
