The owners of a strip club and 10 of its dancers have filed a lawsuit against the city of Arcadia, claiming the city and its police department have systematically violated their rights.
According to a lawsuit filed on June 26 in Los Angeles Superior Court, police have obstructed business at the Taboo Gentlemen’s Club and repeatedly violated the rights of its employees, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune reported today.
The club’s lawyer Scott Wellman told the newspaper that the city’s code compliance actions have been “shakedowns.”
City Attorney Stephen Dietsch would not comment on the case.
In May, the club was forced to close after police arrested owner Chowtak Jajleh and dancer Rose Garza for license violations. Police said none of the club’s dancers had proper licenses to dance at the club and that the club knew about it.
Arcadia Police Chief Robert Sanderson told the Pasadena Star News that police took action after an investigation found that none of the club’s dancers had a license to perform. All dancers must undergo a police background check in order to receive a license, Sanderson explained, noting that such a practice is meant to discourage prostitution.
The club also violated restrictions on how close dancers can be to customers, Sanderson said.
But club lawyer Roger Diamond denied the Taboo has violated any municipal codes, claiming the latest police action is meant to harass its owners.
Sanderson said his department became involved in the case when the club’s dancers stopped coming in to renew their licenses.
But the lawsuit contends that the police department turned away several dancers seeking to renew their licenses on May 22. That same night, police raided the club and made the arrests.
Wellman said police unnecessarily entered the dancers’ dressing room without allowing them to dress, then told them to change in front of them.
The suit seeks compensatory damages for lost income and also seeks to change how the city licenses dancers.
New licensing rules in Arcadia went into effect on July 1, increasing fees per dancer from $100 to $250, requiring applicants to apply at City Hall before going to the Police
Department for background checks.
In 2004, Wellman’s sued the city of Anaheim on behalf of another Taboo Club and won a $2 million settlement.
