City sues to close Sugar's
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By Tory Brecht | Wednesday, November 22, 2006 |
The City of Davenport legal department filed suit Tuesday in Scott County District Court to shut down Sugar’s Exotic Dancers, alleging that the adult business is a house of prostitution.
Previously, the city had threatened to revoke the downtown strip club’s business license, but the legal staff decided to seek closure based on violations of Iowa state code.
Brian Heyer, the city attorney handling the case, said a hearing has been scheduled Dec. 5 in Scott County District Court where the city will ask a judge to shut down Sugar’s until the lawsuit is resolved.
The suit details several searches of the business at 1037 W. 3rd St. Some searches were conducted by undercover Davenport police officers, and one was conducted by undercover agents from the Iowa Lottery Commission.
According to the suit, two commission agents were “solicited for sex acts as defined by Iowa law at the price of $150 and $120, respectively.”
A search warrant executed by Davenport officers “recovered several used condoms from the garbage cans in the rooms located within the business. The used condoms were discovered throughout the business.”
The club was ordered closed Aug. 18, after two employees were charged with prostitution as a result of the investigations. Since then, two city hearings on the matter have been postponed.
John Moeller, the attorney representing Sugar’s owner Dorothy Sampson and Dale Labath, who owns the building where the club operates, has called the city’s hearing process unconstitutional.
In 2005, Moeller successfully challenged a previous city attempt to revoke the business license. In that case, District Judge John Nahra ruled the city ordinance was “overboard and invests unfettered discretion in the office of the mayor.”
Since then, the ordinance has been revised and the city legal staff has decided to cite a state statute to make their case.
If the lawsuit is successful, Sampson would be forced out of the premises and permanently restrained from opening another adult business in the city. In addition, Labath would have to close the business and leave the building vacant for one year.
“After that year, he’d have to find a tenant or sell it,” Heyer said.
The city would then move forward with the business license revocation, he added.
Tory Brecht can be contacted at (563) 383-2329 or tbrecht@qctimes.com.
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