Strip club flouts stay-home order
Calif. AG threatens to pursue legal action
SAN DIEGO — A San Diego strip club kept on offering live adult entertainment over the weekend despite a warning from California’s attorney general, who has vowed to take legal action if the business does not close to comply with the state’s stay-at-home order issued this month.
Jason Saccuzzo, the lawyer for Pacers Showgirls International, said Monday that a court order issued last month makes it clear the business is protected from restrictions imposed by San Diego County and state officials.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a cease-and-desist letter sent to Pacers and Cheetahs Gentlemen’s Club on Friday that they are violating the state’s new stay-at-home policy, which bars indoor and outdoor dining and prohibits social gatherings that bring together people of different households in an effort to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
Becerra wrote that he was acting on behalf of Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, and the California Department of Public Health and that he will pursue legal action if the companies don’t comply.
Pacers’ lawyer said he planned to reach out to the state Monday to get
clarity.
“Our view is the existing order from the court allows us to have live adult entertainment, and I don’t think the state issuing a cease-anddesist letter trumps the court order,” Saccuzzo said. “But we are still considering our options.”
The preliminary injunction expires Wednesday, when a hearing is scheduled to discuss whether to extend it.
Steve Hoffman, the attorney representing Cheetahs, said the club was closed Monday and will remain shuttered through Tuesday for rea
sons unrelated to the cease-and-desist letter the state issued Friday.
He declined to say why the club was closed. Both lawyers said they are awaiting a decision from the judge on Wednesday.
The state order issued Dec. 6 covers Southern California and is based on the level of available beds in hospitals’ intensive care units.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Joel R. Wohlfeil sided with the clubs when he granted the injunction Nov. 6, saying adult live entertainment is “constitutionally protected speech.”