from www.avn.com – Stemming from an incident in 2008, Exxxotica New York LLC filed suit last week in U.S. District Court in New Jersey, charging a conspiracy among Secaucus, its officials and the Hartz Mountain Development Corporation, which owns the Meadowlands, to prevent Exxxotica NY (ENY) from the exercise of its legal and contractual rights.

The suit was filed by the Atlantic City law firm of Levine, Staller, Sklar, Chan, Brown & Donnelly. The complaint sets out a history of the contractual discussions between ENY and Hartz Mountain (Hartz MEC) stretching back to December 28, 2007, the date the two entities entered into a lease agreement for the Exxxotica 2008 Show. ENY allegedly paid the Meadowlands security deposits totaling $32,500.

According to the complaint, ENY made it clear to the venue’s management that its event “was to include the sale of adult materials (books, magazines, etc.) as well as exhibits and demonstrations for a mature audience.”

ENY, according to the complaint, “expressly sought defendants’ assurance that the anticipated conduct, sales and demonstrations were permitted at the Expo Center.”

According to the suit, during a series of email communications, Hartz MEC General Manager Robin Cuneo responded that the Tradeshow was acceptable, appropriate and permitted at the venue.

However, during the discussions, SMG advised ENY that Hartz MEC would require a lease rider expressly restricting “certain acts and conduct” that might be permitted at the tradeshow.

It was also stipulated in the lease rider that ENY would make sure that all participants in the tradeshow would abide by the restrictions set forth in the rider as well as all local or state laws that might apply
and in the event of such material breach of the Rider by the Plaintiff, it would not be entitled to a return of any pre-paid fees, and that SMG and Hartz MEC would not be responsible for any damages arising from the cancellation of the Tradeshow and termination of the Lease pursuant to the Rider.

According to the suit. Exxxotica never got a chance to violate the terms of the lease or its rider, because in early September 2008, officials of Secaucus claimed to have first been informed by the local chief of police that the adult expo would be coming to the Meadowlands.

Then on Sept. 4 the city of Secaucus announced that they would be seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent Exxxotica from taking place citing obscene and lewd exhibitions and activities.

The city also claimed that serving alcohol at the show would violate New Jersey’s Alcoholic Beverage Control regulations, and that some of the activities planned for the show would violate Secaucus Municipal Ordinances prohibiting “go-go dancing” in venues where alcohol was served.

Even though ENY pledged to prohibit questionable activity of concern to the city of Secaucus, the city refused to withdraw its motion for a restraining order. According to the complaint, neither Hartz MEC nor SMG supported ENY in its attempts to enforce its lease agreement, and told ENY that “they did not intend to allow the tradeshow to go forward and that Plaintiff would ‘not be permitted in the doors’ of the Expo Center.”

As a result ENY had to find a new venue for the show at the last minute. The organizers then struck a deal to use the Raritan Center in Edison, even though Edison’s Mayor Jun Choi voiced objections.

Besides “breach of contract” claims against the Expo Center and its management, the 16-count complaint charges “tortuous interference” by the city, its mayor and town administrator in the contractual process, and violations by all defendants of ENY’s free speech rights under both the U.S. Constitution and the New Jersey Constitution.