JSLG, Incorporated v. City of Waco

CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedJanuary 11, 2013
Docket11-51041
StatusUnpublished

This text of JSLG, Incorporated v. City of Waco (JSLG, Incorporated v. City of Waco) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
JSLG, Incorporated v. City of Waco, (5th Cir. 2013).

Opinion

REVISED January 11, 2013

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit

FILED December 26, 2012 No. 11-51041 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk JSLG, INCORPORATED,

Plaintiff-Appellant v.

CITY OF WACO; RANDY CHILDERS, Building Official

Defendants-Appellees

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas USDC No. 6:11-CV-131

Before BENAVIDES, OWEN, and SOUTHWICK, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM:* The Plaintiff-Appellant JSLG, Inc. (“JSLG”) brought suit against the Defendants-Appellees, the City of Waco (“the City”) and Randy Childers,1 Building Official for the City, raising constitutional challenges to an ordinance governing sexually oriented businesses. The district court granted summary

* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4. 1 For ease of reference, the Defendants-Appellees will be referred to simply as “the City.” No. 11-51041

judgment for the City and denied JSLG’s request for a preliminary injunction. Finding no reversible error, we affirm the district court’s judgment. I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY JSLG was a Texas corporation, and it owned a nightclub called Sonny’s BYOB (“Sonny’s”) that featured nude dancing in Waco, Texas. The City’s ordinance allowed nude dancing only if a corporation held a sexually oriented business (“SOB”) license. JSLG obtained this license in 2007, and the ordinance requires the license to be renewed annually. John Skruck ran the nightclub; however, the paperwork filed with the City lists his daughter Mary Skruck, who resides outside of Texas, as the owner. In 2010, the Waco police received complaints stating that prostitution was occurring at Sonny’s. The Waco police thereafter conducted several undercover investigations at the nightclub. As a result, three of the dancers were arrested for prostitution. After each arrest, the City sent a nuisance notification letter to JSLG. Two of the dancers were convicted of the offense of prostitution. John Skruck provided bail and legal fees for at least one of the dancers. Additionally, the City Fire Marshall (“Marshall”) conducted an inspection of the nightclub. During this inspection, the Marshall discovered a room with a door that locked from the inside. It was known as the “High Roller Room.” The Marshall asked that the door be unlocked. The manager on duty that night claimed he could not find the right key, making a fair amount of noise attempting to open the door with various keys. After some delay, a dancer and a male patron exited this room. The Marshall told the manager that the door should not have a lock and that a camera should be installed in the room. During a routine follow up inspection, the Marshall again found the High Roller Room door locked. After gaining entry to the room, the Marshall observed a nude dancer and a male patron, who was not wearing pants and whose genitals were exposed.

2 No. 11-51041

In December 2010, JSLG submitted its annual application for renewal of its SOB license. On April 18, 2011, the City sent notice to JSLG that the license was revoked upon receipt of the notice. The City cited four sections of the Code of Ordinances as grounds for the one-year revocation.2 JSLG appealed to the city council. After hearing from both sides, the council voted to uphold the revocation. Thereafter, JSLG filed suit in Texas state court and obtained a temporary restraining order (“TRO”). The City removed the case to federal district court, and JSLG moved again for a TRO and a preliminary injunction. The district court denied the TRO and held a hearing on the motion for the preliminary injunction. Thereafter, the City filed a motion for summary judgment. On September 26, 2011, the district court denied JSLG’s motion for preliminary injunction and granted the City’s motion for summary judgment. JSLG now appeals.3

II. ANALYSIS A. Standard of Review

2 The violations were of the following sections:

(1) A licensee gave false or misleading information in the material submitted during the application or license renewal process; . . . (3) A licensee or an employee has knowingly allowed prostitution on the premises; . . . (6) On two or more occasions within a 12-month period, a person or persons committed an offense, occurring in or on the licensed premises, of a crime listed in section 20-36(a)(8)a, for which a conviction has been obtained; and the person or persons were employees of the sexually oriented business at the time the offenses were committed; (7) A licensee or an employee has knowingly allowed any act of sexual intercourse, sodomy, oral copulation, masturbation or sexual contact to occur in or on the licensed premises[.]

§ 20-40(b)(1), (3), (6), (7) of Waco’s Code of Ordinances (“Sexually Oriented Businesses”). 3 Subsequent to the filing of the instant appeal, the Secretary of State forfeited JSLG’s corporate privileges based on JSLG’s failure to pay taxes.

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JSLG argues that the district court erred in granting the City’s motion for summary judgment. This Court reviews a district court’s ruling on summary judgment de novo, applying the same standards as the district court. See, e.g., Hirras v. Nat’l R.R. Passenger Corp., 95 F.3d 396, 399 (5th Cir. 1996). Summary judgment is proper if the record reflects “that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c). B. Mootness 1. Injunctive Relief The City contends that the appeal is moot and should be dismissed for lack of appellate jurisdiction. The City points out that JSLG brought suit to enjoin the revocation of its SOB license. However, the City has since revoked the license, and the one-year revocation period has expired. On April 18, 2011, the City sent a letter notifying JSLG that its SOB license would be revoked for one year from the date of receipt of the letter. Additionally, the letter provided that upon appeal the revocation shall be automatically stayed pending the city council’s final decision. JSLG took an appeal, which stayed the revocation. The City denied JSLG’s appeal. On May 12, in state court, JSLG obtained a TRO against the City. On May 23, the City removed the case to federal district court. On May 26, JSLG moved for a continuing TRO and preliminary injunction. On May 27, the court held a hearing on the request for a TRO and denied it that day. On June 3, the district court held a hearing on the motion for a preliminary injunction. On September 26, the court denied JSLG’s motion for preliminary injunction. Thus, the revocation began at the latest on May 27, 2011, and was set to last for a period of one year. This Court heard oral argument on September 5, 2012. Clearly, the one-year revocation period has expired. A “request for injunctive relief generally becomes moot upon the happening of the event sought to be enjoined.” Harris v. City of Houston, 151 F.3d 186, 189 (5th

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Cir. 1998). “An appeal from a denial of a motion for preliminary injunction is rendered moot when the act sought to be enjoined has occurred.” Seafarers Intern. Union of N. Am. v. Nat’l Marine Servs., 820 F.2d 148, 151 (5th Cir. 1987), abrogated on other grounds by Litton Fin. Printing Div. v.

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