ATLANTA (AP) A Georgia county has been ordered to pay more than more than $4 million in damages and attorney fees to a billboard company as part of its ongoing fight to keep billboards out of Atlanta's northern suburbs.
The verdict is the latest blow to Fulton County in its long-running legal battle against billboard companies, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
A U.S. District Court in Atlanta jury last month awarded the $3.97 million in damages to KH Outdoor, which sued the county in 2003. Last week, a federal judge ordered the county to pay $477,156 in attorneys' fees and expenses to the company's lawyers.
Adam Webb, a lawyer for the billboard company, declined to comment.
An appeal by the county "remains a viable option," Fulton County Attorney David Ware said.
Several suburban cities north of Atlanta are now negotiating with sign companies, trying to have as much input in the placement of the billboards as possible.
Sandy Springs, for instance, is in talks with billboard companies to find locations that won't clutter the landscape, City Attorney Wendell Willard said.
KH Outdoor wants to put up two dozen signs, mostly along Roswell Road, and Action Outdoor Advertising, which also was involved in the litigation, has already put up two signs — one along Roswell Road north of I-285 and another along Ga. 400 near Roberts Drive, Willard said.
