An attorney for Bobby Cannon and the Bare Elegance Show Club filed a summary judgment in Lubbock County Court on March 21 in their ongoing battle to obtain a permit to open.
The Bare Elegance Show Club has twice been denied a business permit because of county zoning regulations that prevent a sexually oriented business from opening 1,500 feet from a “dwelling.”
When Cannon first attempted to get a permit for the proposed club in November 2003, a neighbor moved a five-wheel, travel trailer next to the plot, claiming that it was a dwelling. Cannon reapplied for a permit in January 2004, but again was denied. Then in March of last year, he filed a lawsuit against the county.
The county has changed its ordinance four times since Cannon first attempted to get a permit. Cannon suggested that the county purposely altered it in an effort to prevent him from opening, though he has no evidence.
“They’re saying they didn’t. I think it’s pretty obvious,” he said.
Cannon told AVN.com that he plans to build a $1.5 million nude dance club on the property if he can obtain the permit.
“It’s gotten to be a pretty big case,” Cannon said, noting that First Amendment attorney John Fahle has been representing him. “We’re asking for $40,000 a month in damages after taxes. I had to hire a CPA.”
A judge can make a summary judgment without hearing testimony from either side, but based entirely on physical and written evidence provided as well as briefs filed by both sides.
“It’s scheduled for trial in July,” Cannon said. “We felt like these were Constitutional issues a judge could answer without a trial. We laid out our argument on paper, laid out our evidence. The ordinance is unconstitutional. We expect a decision probably by mid-April.”
He continued, “We think we have a really great case. The description of a dwelling in the Lubbock County ordinance did not include a travel trailer or RV.”
