Underage strippers file $15 million lawsuit against Reno after ban on dancers under 21

Anjeanette Damon | Reno Gazette Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption The City podcast is back for Season 2 In Reno, Nevada, a fight over strip clubs means high stakes for business owners, government, and everyone in between.

Eight underage strippers have filed a $15 million lawsuit against the city of Reno, claiming the city's new law banning women younger than 21 from working in strip clubs is a civil rights violation.

The strippers, who are all between the ages of 18 and 21, also argue the city's licensing requirements imposed on female topless dancers and not male dancers are discriminatory.

A ninth woman signed on to the lawsuit as an underage patron, arguing she has a right to view topless women at an establishment that serves alcohol just as she has a right to eat at a restaurant that serves alcohol.

The lawsuit, which seeks to be certified as a class action lawsuit on behalf of all similarly situated strippers, stems from the Reno City Council's decision in April to enact new restrictions on Reno strip clubs. In addition to banning dancers younger than 21, the restrictions included such things as requiring brighter lighting and more video surveillance in the clubs and banning private booths.

The meeting was the culmination of an unsuccessful four-year effort to kick strip clubs out of downtown Reno, an effort chronicled by USA TODAY's The City podcast. The council ultimately opted against forcing the strip clubs to move to industrial areas.

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The strippers who signed on to the lawsuit are Catherine Castellanos, Lauren Courtney, Rachel Jasper, Brianna Morales, Victoria Rachet, Lily Stagner, Natalee Wells and Cecelia Whittle. The strip club patron is Maryann Rose Brooks.

They argue the city's new law amounts to a government taking of their ability to earn a living, estimating they are losing between $50,000 and $100,000 a year for three years.

The lawsuit estimates the loss of revenue from the city's 100 or so underage strippers to be about $15 million over the next three years.

"The argument that those under the age of 21 may be more likely to do bad things when exposed to alcohol and the uncovered breast of a female body simultaneously is not supported by the record," the lawsuit said.

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According to a written statement from Reno City Attorney Karl Hall's office, the city "looks forward to responding in court."

"Notwithstanding the allegations made in the (lawsuit), the changes made by city council to update the adult interactive cabaret regulations were measured and thoughtful," the statement said. "The changes comport with state and federal law, and mirror similar regulations in place elsewhere in the state of Nevada and across the United States."

The lawsuit was filed by lawyer Mark Thierman, who also represents Kamy Keshmiri and Jamy Keshmiri, owners of the Wild Orchid, Fantasy Girls and Spice House. The Keshmiris are not part of this lawsuit.

Details of the lawsuit

In the lawsuit, Thierman claims the Reno City Council violated state law when it passed the new ordinances without considering a business impact statement prepared by staff.

That report was meant to analyze the economic effect of the new ordinances on the business owners. However, the report basically concluded that quantifying that impact was too difficult. Despite that finding, the city attorney's office asked council to accept the report as proof the new ordinances posed no "significant economic burden" on the strip clubs.

At the time, Councilman Devon Reese found the report lacking any solid evidence and worried the city would be at risk of a lawsuit.

"So where in the record am I to point to when I am subsequently on the stand in a lawsuit that comes?" Reese asked during the council meeting. "Where is the record that makes that case for the 'no economic impact' or no burden on the businesses? Where is that?"

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The city council ultimately voted to acknowledge the report but not to accept it, a bit of a semantic move to avoid delaying a decision so the city could prepare a better report.

In addition to failing to perform an adequate analysis, the women's lawsuit claims the city council completely ignored a business impact statement commissioned by the strip clubs that found the new laws would result in a $25 million economic loss to the city, including earnings for the clubs, the dancers and tax revenue for the city.

"The business impact statement prepared by staff completely ignores the evidence," the lawsuit said.

The statement did not seem to address the fact dancers younger than 21 would lose their business entirely. Strippers in Reno are not employees of the clubs, rather they are independent contractors with their own individual business licenses and work cards.

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"Not once did anyone ask about the economic impact on the dancers who were 18 to 21 years of age," the lawsuit said.

The suit also reprises claims from an earlier lawsuit, which Thierman had filed and then dropped, that the city of Reno discriminates against female topless dancers by imposing expensive and invasive licensing requirements on women but not men.

"Defendants require all female strippers to undergo a rigorous and intrusive background check, to abide to harsh restrictions on when and where they can perform and to obey (under threat of fines and/or criminal prosecution) other onerous, inhibiting, and chilling restrictions on their First Amendment expression," the lawsuit said. "But do not require the same of male strippers who can dance topless at almost any entertainment venue."

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Anjeanette Damon is the government watchdog reporter for the RGJ. You can reach her at adamon@rgj.com or follow her on Twitter @AnjeanetteDamon. If you care about shining a bright light on decisions made by your elected officials, please consider subscribing to the Reno Gazette Journal.