The company that owns The Pony nightclub is suing Lowndes County in federal court.
MEC Inc. filed its complaint with the U.S. Northern District Court in Aberdeen on March 18, claiming the county’s most recent ordinance restricting nightclub operating hours “unlawfully took property and business” from the club.
The complaint stems from an ordinance county supervisors approved in 2013 requiring nightclubs to close at 1 a.m. and for nightclub premises to be vacated by 1:30 a.m. The ordinance defines a nightclub as “lounges, taverns, bars, dance halls, pool halls, community centers, recreation centers, convention centers, multi-purpose centers” serving alcohol and providing activities including live music and dancing. It also includes restaurants or bars that provide such entertainment during any portion of its regular operation.
By state law, certain establishments must cease alcohol sales by 1 a.m., but the Pony — a strip club on Highway 45 Alternate North near the Clay County line — acknowledged in its complaint that it operated for several hours after it was required to stop serving alcohol before the new ordinance. The Pony alleges the county’s ordinance keeps the business from making profits not associated with alcohol — such as food and entertainment sales.
Before the ordinance began regulating operating hours, The Pony’s attorney Jeff Hosford of Starkville said, his client not only followed the law but also used its later operating hours to protect the safety of its patrons. Essentially, he said longer hours allowed club patrons time to sober up before leaving the premises. The county’s ordinance, he argues, actually further endangers clubgoers.
“The ordinance is unconstitutional and a taking of the property interests of my client,” Hosford told The Dispatch in an email statement. “The law allows business like McDonald’s, Waffle House, Walgreens and Walmart to operate 24 hours a day. There are existing laws that allow the county to regulate businesses that cause disturbances. This law takes away my client’s property without compensating him as required.
“The damages are ongoing as the ordinance affects his business on a daily basis by taking away the ability generate income,” he added. “The business was legally open and operating later than 1 a.m., while not serving alcohol. This period allowed my client to ensure that patrons were not drinking immediately prior to leaving as no alcohol was served. The new law endangers the community by forcing business owners to make customers leave the premises that may have been drinking and has taken away his lawful business proceeds.”
Board of Supervisors President Harry Sanders said the ordinance applied equally to all nightclubs in Lowndes County that operated outside of the Columbus city limits as a matter of public safety and did not specifically target The Pony. He believes The Pony’s complaint “has no merit,” and even though the club cuts off alcohol sales at the requisite 1 a.m., he doesn’t believe drinking at the establishment stopped then before the county’s ordinance took effect.
“People were buying a six pack or case of beer and icing it down so they could keep on drinking,” Sanders said. “They weren’t selling it, but they were still allowing people to drink it … we passed this ordinance to keep down the riots, shootings, killings and drunk driving. If (The Pony) was making legitimate money past 1 a.m., they just need to find out how to do it during regular business hours.”
Effects of ordinance
Sheriff Mike Arledge said he asked supervisors to enact the nightclub ordinance because of high call volume to such establishments at all hours of the night. Specifically, he said people would leave parties at the Lowndes County Fairgrounds in Columbus and flock to clubs east of the city close to the Alabama line. Since the ordinance took effect, he said call volume after 1 a.m. has decreased significantly.
In the last year, Arledge said his officers responded to The Pony only four times — twice for a domestic disturbance, once for theft, once for shoplifting. Even before the ordinance passed, he said The Pony did not tend to be a hot spot for criminal activity.
“We have very few problems out there, and one reason I think that’s the case is because they have a little better security than some of the other clubs,” Arledge said. “But when you have an ordinance like this, it applies to everybody.”
Jason Dare, of the Wyatt, Tarrant and Combs law firm in Jackson, is representing the county in the case. He did not return calls or emails for comment by press time.
No hearing has been set.
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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