HOOVER, Ala. - In a five-day trial that began on Oct. 9, the city of Hoover is attempting to convince Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Robert Vance Jr. that Love Stuff should be shut down because it operates illegally close to residences.
On Oct. 11, after the third day of the non-jury trial, Vance-accompanied by lawyers, a court reporter and a videographer-visited Love Stuff, said Ross Winner, senior consultant and general manager of the store. The trial, which Vance put on hold after his tour of Love Stuff because the store's attorney was ill, is scheduled to resume Thursday.
The city of Hoover claims that Love Stuff is in violation of an Alabama law that makes it illegal for "adult-only" businesses to sell sex toys, sexually explicit DVDs or magazines within 1,000 feet of residences, churches, day-care centers, playgrounds or "any other place frequented by minors." The store opened in 2004 and was sued by the city the following year.
Winner said his store is not an adult-only business and operates within the provisions of the state law's "exception clause [Section 13A]."
"We have been selling [adult merchandise to be used for] medical, educational, scientific, legislative and law-enforcement purposes for well over two years," Winner told AVN Novelty Business. "We took a very serious look at [the law's exception clause], and at that time, we determined that it was the safest way to go forward. We have training courses for our staff and certify our employees to sell them for these purposes."
Since the majority of Love Stuff's merchandise is suitable for a minor, Winner added, the store should not be legally treated as an adult store.
"We do not classify ourselves as an adult store," he said. "The state of Alabama's law states that a substantial portion of your inventory must be devoted to the sale of items, magazines, videos and sexual devices designed to stimulate the human genitals. Our store doesn't fit that criteria. We stock only about 12 percent adult, and another 15 percent is what I call a ‘PG-18' area. They're appropriate for an 18-year-old to buy, without being overtly adult. Almost three-quarters of our store is suitable for a 12-year-old."
Love Stuff keeps its small inventory of overtly adult items in a back room to avoid offending customers, Winner said, adding that each customer is required to sign a disclaimer declaring the legal purposes of the items being purchased.
"If you do not sign it, you don't get the product," he said. "If you come in my store and say, ‘Hey, this dildo is for a gag gift,' you're going to get asked to leave the store-and we have asked customers to leave."
The store also uses signs to explain the legal purposes of its items, Winner added, noting that the staff is qualified to sell medical equipment.
"We've made it absolutely clear to the city and the state that we are in compliance with the exception policy, and based upon that, we are not contesting the state of Alabama's law; we support it," he said. "If they feel it necessary to come after us, then we will take it to the Supreme Court."
In preparation, Winner said, the company has hired prominent defense attorney Joe Sogol.
"[Sogol] is writing and preparing to file a motion to prepare a suit against the state of Alabama that their law is vague and lacks clarification and definitive answers or guidelines," he said. "There are a lot of unanswered questions in our laws that Mr. Sogol and his associate attorneys have brought up to file an injunction against the state, city and counties. This will create reasonable doubt and make it very difficult for law enforcement to come in and raid a business like mine that is complying with the law."
Photo: Love Stuff General Manager Ross Winner greets Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Robert Vance Jr. Courtesy of Al.com.
