STC Two, Global Signal Seek Over $136,000 in Fees, Costs in Property Owner Suit

STC Two and Global Signal seek an attorneys’ fees award of $134,866.50 and a court costs award of $2,214.50, plus “other and further relief” as the court deems just and proper, said their motion (docket 2:23-cv-00764) Wednesday in U.S. District Court for Southern Ohio in Columbus in a fraud suit vs. a cell tower property owner. The plaintiffs' Feb. 24, 2023, fraud complaint (see 2302280015) alleged defendant Thomas Branham “willfully breached” a lease with STC for a 2,500-square-foot section of his property that employees of Global Signal, STC’s attorney-in-fact for the cellsite, had been accessing for over 20 years when he installed a padlock on the gate at the entrance to the cellsite and refused to remove it. In an April 25 opinion and order, U.S. District Judge James Graham granted summary judgment to STC Two and Global Signal in an award of attorneys’ fees pursuant to the terms of the lease (see 2404260008). Graham also granted plaintiffs’ motion for a permanent injunction against Branham, determining that plaintiffs’ injury suffered -- no unfettered access to the leased premises and potential for future harm -- “is irreparable, and cannot be adequately remedied with monetary damages.” Branham is permanently enjoined from blocking or otherwise interfering with plaintiffs’ access easement over the property to the cellsite 24/7 and from maintaining a padlock on the gate at the entrance of the property without providing plaintiffs a key, the order said. Permanently enjoining Branham from interfering with plaintiffs’ access serves the public interest “by ensuring reliable wireless communications services,” it said.