Stop Bothering Our Customers.

Plaintiff owns an outdoor shopping center with 60 retail stores, and has a policy of prohibiting solicitation of donations on shopping center property. Defendants, who provided evidence they operate youth centers outside the county, were repeatedly soliciting donations on the sidewalk areas immediately adjacent to store entrances. The police refused to intervene, and the shopping center asked the court to issue a preliminary injunction ordering defendants to cease trespassing. The trial court issued the injunction. On appeal, the appellate court noted that as a general rule, landowners and tenants have a right to exclude persons from trespassing on private property. Citing Robins v. Pruneyard Shopping Center (1979) 23 Cal.3d 899, [153 Cal.Rptr. 854, 592 P.2d 341] and Ralph’s Grocery Co. v. United Food & Commercial Workers (2012) 55 Cal.4th 1083, [150 Cal.Rptr.3d 501, 290 P.3d 1116], the appellate court stated that a shopping center may constitute a public forum because of its public character and that it is an important place for large groups of citizens to congregate, and that for constitutionally-protected freedom of speech in a public forum protection to apply, it must be in a place within the shopping center designed in a way that induces shoppers to congregate for entertainment, relaxation and conversation. In affirming the trial court’s grant of injunction in favor of the shopping center, the appellate court held that entrances and exits to individual stores are not public forums. (Donahue Schriber Realty Group, Inc. v. Nu Creation Outreach (Cal. App. Fifth Dist.; December 12, 2014) 232 Cal.App.4th 1171, [181 Cal.Rptr.3d 577].)