You might remember the big battle with P.T.’s Gentlemen’s Club in 2003, when a group of neighbors banded together to force the club from its then-home on Northwest Highway near the DART stop and over to Miller and Plano. Community involvement not only caused the strip club to move; legal efforts led by then-State Rep. Bill Keffer and State Senator John Carona resulted in passage of a state law prohibiting sexually oriented businesses (SOBs) from serving alcohol in a dry area, having the effect of preventing P.T.’s from serving alcohol at the new location.
Naturally, P.T.’s wasn’t excited about the BYOB concept (designed to cut into its profits and possibly make it unprofitable for the club to stay in business), so it and other SOBs filed suit, claiming the law violated their constitutional rights. The neighborhood raised the money to hire Scott Bergthold, a nationally recognized lawyer familiar with this issue, to file a "friend-of-the-court" brief. A federal district court upheld the law, but in March, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals remanded the case back to district court for further review. The case is set for trial Dec. 10, and neighborhood resident Ray Hill is leading the charge to bring Bergthold back to help. About $8,000 is needed to fund his efforts.
Hill says an anonymous neighborhood business has volunteered to match donations dollar for dollar, and so far he has raised about $4,000 (including the matching funds) but he needs $4,000 more. If you’re willing to help, send Ray an email. Ray says the donation will be tax deductible, too. And stay tuned for updates on the issue.
