A Galleria area strip club that has been targeted for closure by local officials in a lawsuit is mounting its own legal challenge, but this time in federal court.
On Friday, the owner of the Treasures club filed a lawsuit against the city of Houston, Assistant City Attorney Nirja S. Aiyer and Houston police officer Matthew Dexter.
Club owners accuse the city and the employees of violating their First Amendment rights and due process protection.
The federal lawsuit is the latest skirmish is a long-running battle between local government officials and the owners and operators of sexually oriented businesses.
"They want to try and make it impossible for us to do business in Houston. We don't want to be targeted anymore," said Treasures attorney Al Van Huff.
Government officials said Treasures has been the site of human trafficking, narcotics activity and prostitution. In May, Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan called Treasures "an epicenter of illegal activity" when the lawsuit against the strip club was filed.
Van Huff said city officials are retaliating against the club because Treasures challenged the local ordinance on sexually oriented businesses.
"They have been running more and more (police vice) operations into Treasures, generating trumped-up cases that are so weak that the District Attorney's Office uniformly dismisses them," Van Huff said.
The federal lawsuit lists about 140 police cases, ranging from prostitution to public lewdness, filed against the club or its employees since 1997. They were either dismissed outright or resulted in an acquittal.
He said Treasures annually generates $20 million, including liquor sales and door fees, and employs more than 1,000 people.
Along with seeking civil rights protection from the federal court, the club owners also want undisclosed monetary damages, according to the lawsuit.
Time for a revolution !!