[The Pack Knight]

“This has constitutional challenge written all over it.”

Correct. I don’t see how Chip-fil-A has a cause of action for damages, but they absolutely should seek an injunction preventing the City from enforcing this contract. And they should consider basing the suit on the Texas, not federal, Constitution, and file in state court. Although they do have a great argument that the City is punishing them for doing exactly what the Citizens United case says they have a right to do under the First Amendment.

[PAR35]

I don’t see how Chip-fil-A has a cause of action for damages

Damages should be fairly easy to prove. Hire a couple of experts, track profits from similarly situated stores, and calculate out the lost sales.

For example, they have one in DFW Terminal C. Adjust for passenger volume and employee levels for that location. Confirm with other locations, fine tune the formulas, and you've got your evidence. The length of the contract is whatever it is, so multiply that out. The airport probably has some optimistic traffic growth projections they use for their bond offerings; use those against them as well.

[Eleutheria5]

They could have a claim for money damages for loss of income from the concession that they weren’t allowed to open due to discriminatory violation of their constitutional rights.