Case against Go Go cabaret will stay out of federal court

AUSTINTOWN — A federal judge has ruled to remand the case against the Go Go Girls Cabaret to state court.

Judge Patricia A. Gaughan, of the U.S. District Court Northern District of Ohio, ruled Wednesday that a notice of removal, to have the case moved to federal court, was non-justifiable based on the arguments made by the defendants.

The motion, filed Tuesday morning by Atty. Martin Yavorcik on behalf on the cabaret, stated that the township had misused the nuisance laws, which violated First Amendment rights.

The ruling stated, “The matter was improperly removed because the complaint stated a purely state law cause of action, and that federal law implicated only by way of the defense that the statute was unconstitutional under the First Amendment.”

The cabaret was shut down Friday after Austintown police conducted a raid and search warrant, arresting five people for drug trafficking, theft and obstructing official business. Police and township officials said the shutdown was necessary due to the illegal activity and constant complaints from Austintown residents.

A motion Yavorcik filed Wednesday to dissolve the temporary restraining order, which is keeping the club closed, was also denied for lack of jurisdiction.

The motion cited “ongoing, immediate and irreparable harm to the defendants’ business and business reputation, and substantial lost wages for its employees by the continuation of the plaintiffs’ temporary restraining order.”

The motion requested an immediate hearing to reverse the order until a hearing.

A preliminary injunction hearing is set for 9 a.m. May 15 in the common pleas courtroom of Judge Lou A. D’Apolito.