Boulder City has won a federal lawsuit brought by a Las Vegas businessman who claimed that his free-speech rights were violated when the city refused to let him put up billboards there.

William Benham filed suit in 2004 after he was denied permission to erect seven billboards along the city's main drag. U.S. District Judge Philip Pro ruled in the city's favor Wednesday.

The ruling came less than 24 hours after the City Council unanimously rejected an undisclosed settlement offer from Benham.

Asked about the fortuitous timing of Tuesday's council vote, Mayor Bob Ferraro said, "Isn't that something? It was perfect."

After Benham filed his lawsuit, Boulder City adopted a ban on all off-site commercial signs. Unlike the city's old sign ordinance, the new rules make no reference to what sort of content is allowed on signs erected in the city.

Pro noted the change in his ruling, writing that the city "does not contest that its prior sign code was unconstitutional" but that Benham's proposed signs "still violated the code's content-neutral, constitutional restrictions on sign height, width, and face area."

Atlanta-based attorney E. Adam Webb, who represents Benham, said Thursday that he had not yet spoken to his client about the possibility of appealing Pro's ruling.

Boulder City Attorney Dave Olsen said an appeal would not surprise him. He said Webb and his law partners seem to make their living by filing constitutional challenges of sign ordinances nationwide.

Webb confirmed as much but objected to any implication that what they do is somehow frivolous. "We do all aspects of sign law," he said. "We're sign-law specialists."

With Webb's help, Benham filed suit against Henderson last year over a sign issue. That lawsuit is pending.

Olsen said that under Pro's ruling, both sides are responsible for their own legal costs, which in Boulder City's case could exceed $10,000. "I can't tell you right now what the cost was to the city, but it was worth it," Olsen said.