Park Mgmt. Corp. v. in Def. Animals

*652 Animal rights activist Joseph Cuviello appeals the entry of a permanent injunction in this trespass action prohibiting him from demonstrating outside of Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, a privately owned amusement park located in Vallejo, California. Ruling on cross-motions for summary judgment, the superior court rejected Cuviello's federal and state constitutional claims that he had a right to picket there peacefully, as well as a common law defense based on a claimed prescriptive easement, and it entered judgment accordingly.

Cuviello appeals, raising both constitutional and non-constitutional issues. In the unpublished portion of this opinion, we conclude Cuviello failed to prove as a matter of law that he has acquired a common law prescriptive right *653 to protest there. In the published portion, we hold as a matter of first impression that the exterior, unticketed areas of the amusement park are a public forum for expressive activity under article I, section 2 of the California Constitution, and accordingly we reverse the judgment.

BACKGROUND

Respondent Park Management Corp. (Park Management) owns and operates Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, an amusement park in Vallejo,…