Settlement Agreement Declared Void By Court.

In 2002, the city of Los Angeles amended its municipal code to ban off-site advertising signs and alterations and enlargements to existing off-site signs, along with an inspection program involving an inspection fee. An outdoor advertising business brought a reverse validation action under Code of Civil Procedure section 860, [The validation statutes permit a local government entity to obtain a judicial decision that a municipal or other local agency has acted legally in making a decision affecting real or personal property. A reverse validation action seeks the opposite, a declaration that the act or omission of a local government is invalid and illegal.] The City attempted to settle an action the action by permitting two companies to digitize many of their existing billboards in violation of its own ordinance, and the trial court found the settlement agreement illegal and void. The appellate court affirmed, adding the trial court must also order revocation of all digital conversion permits granted under the illegal settlement agreement.  Summit Media LLC v. City of Los Angeles (CBS Outdoor, Inc.) (Cal. App. Second Dist., Div. 8; December 10, 2012) 211 Cal.App.4th 921.