Court tables man’s claim that Reno law violates free speech

RENO — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a man who claims Reno’s billboard ordinance violates free speech rights.

U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks ruled Friday that plaintiff Larry Herson had no standing because he never actually applied for a permit to build a billboard in the first place, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported.

Herson had requested a temporary injunction to suspend the ordinance’s ban on construction of new off-premises advertising displays or billboards.