State judge throws out arts agency's suit against Cincinnati boycotters

By The Associated Press

08.27.02

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CINCINNATI — A judge yesterday dismissed a lawsuit by an arts organization that said its business was damaged when backers of an economic boycott urged Bill Cosby, Wynton Marsalis and others to cancel Cincinnati performances.

The judge upheld arguments by the boycott-backing Coalition for a Just Cincinnati that the First Amendment's free-speech guarantee allows the boycott supporters to contact artists and urge them not to perform in Cincinnati.

The activists began the boycott last year after a white police officer fatally shot a fleeing black man. Activists said they wanted to pressure the city to stop alleged police harassment of blacks and to ensure more economic opportunities for blacks.

The Cincinnati Arts Association sued in March to demand at least $86,850 in compensatory damages and $500,000 in punitive damages. The activists' letters prompted Cosby, Marsalis and other black entertainers including the Temptations and the O'Jays to cancel scheduled Cincinnati performances, the arts association said.

The association asked for a court order to stop the alleged interference with contracts that it had with entertainers.

But the activists' appeals to entertainers are political speech that is protected by the First Amendment, Judge Thomas Nurre ruled in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court.

Nurre wrote, however, that he regrets the outcome because he considers the arts association to be an innocent party in the dispute. The arts association's programs benefit the entire community and it gives money toward the education of children, the judge noted.

"A truly innocent party has been injured and there is nothing that the court can do to remedy the situation," Nurre wrote in his 22-page ruling. "The defendants need to realize that they are wielding a powerful weapon that can most certainly cause substantial — perhaps irreparable — harm to those who seek to actually heal the city."

Spokesmen for the Coalition for a Just Cincinnati didn't answer telephone calls to their homes yesterday.

Janet Taylor, vice president and general manager of the arts association, said she had not seen the ruling. The organization's lawyer is out of the city and its leaders will consult with him before deciding whether to appeal the dismissal, Taylor said.

The not-for-profit association operates major performing arts locations in Cincinnati, including Music Hall, Memorial Hall and the Aronoff Center for the Arts.

Update

Cincinnati Arts Association, boycott group settle lawsuits
State judge had dismissed arts organization's lawsuit, upholding Coalition for a Just Cincinnati's free-speech argument.  02.12.03

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