Yellow Cab of Reno, Inc. v. Reno Cab Co.

MEMORANDUM ***

The facts and procedural posture of the case are known to the parties, and we do not repeat them here. Appellant Yellow Cab Company of Reno, Inc. (“Yellow Cab”) appeals the district court’s order granting summary judgment on its 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims in favor of appellee-defendant Airport Authority of Washoe County, Nevada (“AAWC”). We review the district court’s grant of summary judgment de novo. Soranno’s Gasco, Inc. v. Morgan, 874 F.2d 1310 , 1313 (9th Cir.1989).

*613 Yellow Cab’s first claim is that AAWC denied its permit application in retaliation for Yellow Cab’s “speech” in violation of the First Amendment. 1 To state a claim for unlawful retaliation, the plaintiff must first show that the speech was “ ‘on a matter of public concern.’ ” Weeks v. Bayer, 246 F.3d 1231, 1234 (9th Cir.2001) (quoting Connick v. Myers, 461 U.S. 138, 145 , 103 S.Ct. 1684 , 75 L.Ed.2d 708 (1983)). Yellow Cab’s speech concerned only its own financial difficulties, and sought a waiver from AAWC’s insurance requirement for itself only. Yellow Cab has provided nothing beyond the bare assertion in its papers to support its claim that the speech was directed towards any broader public…