Indiana- from www.istockanalyst.com - A weekend celebration marking the closing of a Uniontown adult book and novelty store may have been premature.
Owners of The Lion's Den filed a notice of appeal in Jackson Superior Court I on Monday, the deadline to file an appeal of Special Judge Stephen Heimann's July 30 ruling against the store.
Susan Bevers, attorney for the Jackson County Board of Commissioners, said she received the notice as well by mail Monday.
Jackson County Clerk Sarah Benter's office will have 30 days to prepare a record of the case and inform the Indiana Court of Appeals when that work is completed and ready for the court's consideration.
The court, however, would first have to decide whether to accept the case. If accepted, the court would dictate whether the case would be heard based on the case's record or if the appeals court judges would also hear oral arguments.
Bevers said Monday afternoon the appeal was not a surprise.
"We thought when the judgment came out July 30 there would be an appeal," she said.
Depending upon what the appeals court decides, Bevers said, commissioners will have to determine how to proceed.
"It could be where the commissioners may not want to spend any more money on the case through preparing briefs or having an attorney make oral arguments, or they could move along with the case," Bevers said.
There's also a chance amicus briefs or so-called friend of the court briefs could be filed by interested third parties, Bevers added.
"That could include the Watchdog group filing an amicus brief," she said.
Ralph Sweany, one of the spokesmen for Jackson County Watchdog, a group of area residents and others who have protested against the store since before its opening in August 2005, told commissioners not to let money be a reason for not fighting an appeal of Heimann's decision.
"Judge Heimann has dealt us a winning hand," Sweany said. He added a fund set up by the county, but funded through private donations, remains in place.
"It's still open, and people can still donate to it," Sweany said.
Watchdog members gathered Saturday at a church in Crothersville to celebrate the store's closing. The store closed earlier this month after owners received Heimann's order.
Rob Patterson, who has operated a website for Jackson County Watchdog and who helped organize Saturday's event, said last week his group was confident no appeal would be sought.
He added, however, that protesters would remain outside the store off Indiana 250 at Interstate 65 should an appeal be filed.
"If they appeal and win, we'll still be here," he said. "We'd come with that package."
Owners of the store and their attorneys have not returned telephone calls from The Tribune seeking comment on Heimann's ruling or their plans to fight it.
Heimann's ruling was on a request for a summary judgment against The Lion's Den filed by Bevers.
That request was filed in February and is based on a lawsuit commissioners filed against The Lion's Den shortly after the business opened Aug. 19, 2005. That lawsuit sought a permanent injunction against the business because the company had failed to obtain a permit to operate a sexually oriented business, in violation of the ordinance.
Commissioners sued owners of the store in an attempt to stop the business from opening, claiming it violated a county ordinance enacted three days before the store opened.
Heimann's ruling stated the ordinance the county enacted was:
-- A licensing ordinance, not a zoning ordinance.
-- That The Lion's Den should not have been grandfathered into the ordinance.
-- The ordinance passed constitutional muster because it did not attempt to ban sexually oriented businesses countywide.
-- And that a counterclaim by the owners of The Lion's Den against the county's request for a summary judgment was not justified.
Owners of the store filed no paperwork requesting permission to reopen it while the case is on appeal.
