The City of Davenport - and ultimately the taxpayers - appear to be on the losing end of a back-and-forth court battle over a "gentlemen's club."
At the heart of the dispute is Chorus Line, a gentlemen's club on North Brady Street in Davenport. The battle is over the city’s 2009 decision to deny the Chorus Line an adult entertainment license.
Shut down for a year, Chorus Line sued the city. After appeals lost by the city, a federal judge ruled August 2, 2013 in favor of the strip club.
Now a jury will decide in September to see how much the city might have to pay for the year the club was forced out of business.
"It's gonna be a substantial number. It's gonna be in the hundreds of thousands,” said Chorus Line’s attorney, Michael Meloy.
"There's been six state and federal court judges now that have ruled against the City of Davenport and in favor of the Chorus Line on these issues,” said Meloy.
“Hopefully the city is going to try, fess up to the problems and realize you can’t do this to a private business,” said Meloy.
Lane and Waterman is representing the City of Davenport and says they may appeal. In an emailed statement, the firm said:
"The City of Davenport and counsel have studied the August 2, 2013 Ruling from Judge Robert Pratt of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. The City is gratified that the Ruling threw out of court several of C. Line, Inc.’s meritless claims. The City is studying whether an appeal should be filed of the summary judgment ruling on the due process claim. The City strongly contests C. Line’s lost profit claims. A Certified Public Accountant has audited C. Line’s business records and found that there was missing information, especially expenses and sales tax payment records."