University Books & Videos, Inc. v. Metropolitan Dade County

78 F. Supp. 2d 1327, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15835
District Court, S.D. Florida·Decided August 27, 1999·No. 96-0952-CIV, 96-0962-CIV, 96-0995-CIV, 96-0996-CIV, 96-1141-CIV, 96-1143-CIV, 96-1337-CIV, 96-1338-CIV and 96-1339-CIV.·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinion

ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND GRANTING DEFENDANT’S CROSS-MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

KING, District Judge.

THIS CAUSE comes before the Court on Plaintiffs’ Joint Motion For Summary Judgment Concerning Part II of the Complaint, filed May 26, 1999. Defendant filed its response — along with a Cross-Motion For Summary Judgment — on June 11, 1999, to which Plaintiffs replied on June *1331 18,1999. The Court heard Oral Argument on the Parties’ Motions on June 29, 1999.

I. Factual and Procedural Background

On January 16,1996, the Board of County Commissioners (“Board”) of Defendant Metropolitan Dade County (“County”) sought to curb the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (“HIV”), acquired immune deficiency syndrome (“AIDS”), and other sexually-transmitted diseases by enacting Ordinance 96-13. 1 See Metropolitan Dade County Ordinance No. 96-13, preamble (Jan. 16, 1996). The primary goal of Ordinance 96-13 was to prohibit sexual activity 2 in adult bookstores and adult video stores. 3 See id. at § 2(3). In order to ensure that sexual activity does not occur in adult bookstores and adult video stores, Ordinance 96-13 strictly regulates viewing rooms, 4 holes in interior *1332 walls, 5 and lighting within these establishments. See id. at § 2(4). Presumably to ease in monitoring and enforcement, Ordinance 96-13 further requires the prominent posting of the names and addresses of such stores’ owners and operators. See id. at § 2(5).

Under Ordinance 96-13, each incident of sexual activity may be the basis for a separate violation. See id. at § 2(6)(a). Civil monetary penalties are to be imposed according to the following schedule: (a) $100 for a person who engages in sexual activity at an adult minimovie arcade, (b) $1000 for an owner/operator who allows sexual activity at an adult minimovie arcade, (c) $500 for an owner/operator who fails to provide only single-seat chairs in viewing rooms, (d) $500 for an owner/operator who fails to provide minimum lighting, (e) $500 for an owner/operator who fails to provide permanently open entranceways into viewing rooms, and (f) $500 for an owner/operator who fails to post the names and addresses of the store’s owners/operators. See id. at § 2(6)(e). In addition, Ordinance 96-13 imposes a criminal penalty of not more than $1000 or not more than 60 days in jail, or both, on owners/operators of adult bookstores and adult video stores who provide or knowingly allow holes in interior walls that are used for sexual activity between persons in adjoining rooms. See id. at § 2(6)(b). Any adult bookstore or adult video store that is found to have violated Ordinance 96-13 three or more times in any six-month period is declared a public nuisance that endangers the health, safety, and welfare of the County’s residents. See id. at § 2(7). Once declared a public nuisance, the store is subject to an injunction closing it. See id.

Plaintiffs operate adult bookstores and adult video stores in unincorporated areas of the County. See Part II of Compl., at ¶ 25. Plaintiffs allege that enforcement of Ordinance 96-13 would violate the following federal and state laws: (1) 42 U.S.C. § 1983, by infringing upon Plaintiffs’ right to free speech and expression, as guaranteed by the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, (2) Article I, section 4 of the Florida Constitution, which also protects Plaintiffs’ right to free speech and expression, and (3) Article I, section 23 of the Florida Constitution, which secures Floridians against unreasonable infringements on the right to privacy. See id. at ¶¶ 30-63. Plaintiffs seek a declaration that Ordinance 96-13 is invalid and unenforceable, a permanent injunction prohibiting the County and its agents, employees, or attorneys from enforcing Ordinance 96-13, and reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1988. See id. at 49-50.

By its terms, Ordinance 96-13 was to become effective on March 16, 1996. See Ordinance 96-13, § 7. Before these cases were removed to federal court, however, a state court entered a preliminary injunction enjoining the County from enforcing the Ordinance. See Order Vacating Stay, June 17, 1998, at 5. Defendant appealed this Court’s decision not to dissolve that injunction. See id. In an unpublished decision entered November 17, 1998, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that, because the Parties had stipulated to the state court’s entry of the preliminary injunction and had not moved this Court to withdraw that stipulation, the injunction remained in force. See University Books v. Miami-Dade County, No. 97-4101, 1998 *1333 WL 819870 (11th Cir. Nov. 17, 1998). As such, since the County has been unable to enforce Ordinance 96-13 in the three years since its enactment, Plaintiffs have yet to suffer any deprivation of their rights of free speech and privacy.

In their Motion For Summary Judgment, Plaintiffs argue that they are entitled to judgment as a matter of law for several reasons. First, Plaintiffs contend that Ordinance 96-13 is unconstitutionally overbroad in that it applies by its terms to any business offering any material that is harmful to minors, rather than to only those establishments whose businesses offer a substantial proportion of such material. See Pis.’ Mot., at 3-10. Plaintiffs suggest that this overbreadth transforms the Ordinance from a content-neutral time, place, and manner regulation into a content-based regulation of protected speech, which presumptively violates the First Amendment. See id. Second. Plaintiffs maintain that Ordinance 96-13 violates the First Amendment because it is not narrowly tailored to achieve its stated purpose of curbing the spread of sexually-transmitted diseases. See id. at 11-17. Third, Plaintiffs state that the Ordinance must be declared unconstitutional because the County failed to make any legislative findings that would support its broadly-sweeping action. See id. at 17-20. Finally, Plaintiffs argue that, by imposing penalties — up to and including the potential closure of establishments found to have violated its terms — under a strict liability scheme, Ordinance 96-13 violates due process and unconstitutionally chills speech protected by the First Amendment. See id. at 20-25.

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University Books & Videos, Inc. v. Metropolitan Dade County, 78 F. Supp. 2d 1327, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15835 (S.D. Fla. 1999).

78 F. Supp. 2d 1327 (University Books & Videos, Inc. v. Metropolitan Dade County) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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