Stop the Tower

< back

Stop the Tower Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 15, 2001

US District Court Dismisses American Tower's $250 Million Lawsuit Against District of Columbia

(Washington, DC)--A US District Court yesterday dismissed American Tower Company's federal claims in its massive $250 million lawsuit against Mayor Anthony Williams and the District of Columbia, finding that the company's suit failed to state a federal claim. The tower company charged that various constitutional guarantees had been violated by the District's decision to revoke building permits for the tower project, including equal protection guarantees, due process, and the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

All federal claims were found by the Court to be erroneous. Indeed, the court paid particular attention to the fact that the tower posed a potential serious safety risk, citing the possibility of falling ice from the tower.

"The US District Court has looked at American Tower Company's claims against the District in this case and determined them to be wholly insubstantial," declared Timothy Cooper, president of Stop the Tower Coalition, Inc. "Now the case will go to where it should have been all along: in DC Superior Court and before the BZA. We believe that the BZA and the DC Superior Court will likewise find American Tower's claims to be erroneous and insubstantial. It is time therefore that American Tower Company enter into serious negotiations with the city and Tenleytown citizens to tear down the tower without delay. For them to continue litigation is for them to pursue folly which will only further engulf the company in unwinnable and expensive litigation," concluded Cooper.

The Court's opinion and order: web page | Acrobat document (PDF) | WordPerfect document

< back