State Ex Rel. Montgomery v. Pakrats Motorcycle Club, Inc.

693 N.E.2d 310, 118 Ohio App. 3d 458
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedFebruary 26, 1997
DocketNos. 96CA0020 and 96CA0035.
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 693 N.E.2d 310 (State Ex Rel. Montgomery v. Pakrats Motorcycle Club, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State Ex Rel. Montgomery v. Pakrats Motorcycle Club, Inc., 693 N.E.2d 310, 118 Ohio App. 3d 458 (Ohio Ct. App. 1997).

Opinion

Reece, Judge.

Appellant Pakrats Motorcycle Club, Inc. appeals the decision of the Wayne County Court of Common Pleas finding the Pakrats’ annual “Pakrat Swap Meet *461 and Party” to be a nuisance, and perpetually enjoining the Pakrats from promoting and maintaining the “Pakrat Swap Meet and Party.” We affirm.

The Pakrats Motorcycle Club, Inc. is an association of motorcycle enthusiasts based in Orrville, Ohio. Every summer, beginning in 1980 and continuing through 1995, the Pakrats hosted the th.ree-day “Pakrat Swap Meet and Party,” where motorcycle enthusiasts from around the country gathered to “party” and trade in motorcycle parts. The Pakrats distributed handbills promoting the event as “the best party in the USA.” The event was open to the public, and attendees paid a $20 fee for admission. The Pakrats held the swap meet and party on the one-hundred-twenty-acre farm of Louis and Debby Rehm, located at 5166 Tannerville Road in Orrville. The swap meet and party featured live bands, food, vendors of motorcycle parts, and activities for the entertainment of the attendees. Both men and women attended the event, often with children in tow. In 1995, attendance at the event numbered between four thousand two hundred and eight thousand people.

Over the course of the event’s fourteen-year existence, Orrville residents became increasingly bothered by it and the negative effects it had on the community. The citizens complained about excessive noise, public sexual activity and immoral behavior at the event, damage to neighbors’ property by party attendees, and crimes perpetrated in the community by attendees. The Wayne County Sheriffs Department also became concerned about its ability to control the behavior of the partygoers due to the size of the event and the wild and disruptive behavior that accompanied it. The' department sought the assistance of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation to examine the activities taking place at the annual swap meet and party. Undercover agents from the BCI posed as t-shirt vendors at both the 1994 and 1995 events. They documented their observations with written reports, as well as still photographs and videotape.

On October 19, 1995, the state of Ohio brought a nuisance action against the Pakrats, seeking to enjoin the Pakrats from maintaining the swap meet and party at 5166 Tannerville Road or anywhere in the state of Ohio. A hearing was held in the matter on October 26 and 27, 1995. Evidence regarding the nature of the event was presented by the BCI agents, a captain from the Wayne County Sheriffs Department and several Orrville residents.

The agents testified that they observed party attendees walking around fully or partially naked throughout the three-day duration of the event. Attendees displayed their bodies and engaged in sex acts out in the open. Such displays often occurred in the vicinity of children. One agent testified to an incident when a man and two women approached the agents’ t-shirt booth and the women lifted *462 up their dresses. The man then performed oral sex on both of the women in front of the agent. The agent documented this occurrence with photographs.

In addition to describing the still photographs, the agents testified about occurrences they videotaped at the event. One agent testified that he viewed a couple, in broad daylight, engaging in sexual activity on the top of a trailer. The video showed the woman, partially naked, performing oral sex on her male companion. According to the agents, occurrences such as these were commonplace.

The videotape further documented the reputed highlight of the party, the annual “titty contest.” The “titty contest,” which the Pakrats extolled on promotional fliers during the early years of event, was a contest where nude women paráded on the stage and the audience rated the attractiveness of their breasts through applause. The tape revealed a master of ceremonies who presided over the contest and encouraged the contestants to place their breasts in a cardboard “titty meter” in order to provide a standard for size comparison. One of the agents testified that there was a tie between two contestants at the 1995 event which the M.C. resolved by having both of the finalists insert a band member’s drumstick into their vaginas. The individual who inserted the drumstick farthest won the contest. All of this activity occurred on stage underneath a banner reading “Welcome Pakrats 15th Swap Party.” The agent’s testimony further revealed that children were present at the contest. The videotape showed a boy, approximately eleven years of age, watching the contest and taking pictures with a camera.

The stage where the contest took place and where live music was performed throughout the duration of the event was equipped with a powerful sound system. Two residents from neighboring farms testified they could hear noise from the event throughout the day and night. Both of them stated that on their respective farms they could hear the music played by the bands until the very early hours of the morning. Both further testified that they heard the M.C. announcing the “titty contest” over the sound system. One of the residents, a mother of two children, stated that even with her windows closed and her air conditioner turned on, she and her family heard the contest in detail. The same woman testified regarding damage done to her crops by party attendees who camped or frolicked in her fields.

On October 26, 1995, the Pakrats issued a press release through their attorney and announced “new rules for conduct of annual swap meet.” The press release read:

“It has come to the attention of The Pakrats Motorcycle Club, Inc., the host organization of an annual swap meet and party held in Orrville each June, that *463 certain isolated incidents of alleged lewd and nude behavior have existed at past events.
“Pakrats President William F. Gadfield said, ‘The focus of the Swap Meet has always been about Motorcycle enthusiasts getting together to share camaraderie with like-minded people and selling their products. Over the years we have resolved to maintain a fun and safe environment at this event that all can enjoy.’ ”

This press release was filed with the trial court.

On November 20, 1995, Louis and Debby Rehm acknowledged that a nuisance existed on their property, and the trial court perpetually enjoined them from maintaining a nuisance on their property or elsewhere. The court then dismissed the Rehms from the action.

A permanent injunction hearing was held on January 9, 1996. On February 23, 1996, the trial court ruled that the swap meet and party was a nuisance and should be enjoined. The court then released a judgment entry on April 5, 1996, permanently enjoining the Pakrats from maintaining and promoting the “Pakrat Swap Meet and Party” in Wayne County or anywhere in the state of Ohio. This appeal followed.

The Pakrats offer six assignments of error for our review. We will address each assignment of error individually.

I

“The trial court erred in finding that a nuisance existed at the site of the ‘Pakrat Swap Meet and Party.’ ”

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Bluebook (online)
693 N.E.2d 310, 118 Ohio App. 3d 458, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-montgomery-v-pakrats-motorcycle-club-inc-ohioctapp-1997.