INDIANAPOLIS -- Lawyers for a swinger club conceded in court Wednesday that it doesn't conform to the letter of the law, but they argued that it should stay open because it pre-existed ordinances regulating adult entertainment businesses,
RTV6's Jack Rinehart reported.
Video: Lawyers: Club Established Before Ordinances
A Marion County Superior Court judge declined to rule Wednesday on the city's lawsuit against the Reel One club, allowing attorneys on both sides more time to make their cases.
The city has asked the judge to shut down Reel One, located on the city's west side. The city argues that the club is in violation of several ordinances, including one that prohibits operation of an adult entertainment business within 500 feet of a residential area.
A case against the club has been pending since 2003, when, according to court documents, two undercover Indianapolis police officers -- married to each other in real life -- entered the club posing as swingers.
The officers saw people who were nude and people engaging in sex at the club, according to police.
Lawyers for the club's owners, Frank and Ann Broadhacker, don't deny the city's assertions about zoning and sex at the club. But they argue that the club opened in 1992 -- before the city began trying to regulate adult businesses -- and that the club therefore should stay open.
Richard Kammen, an attorney for the Broadhackers, said the city has no business trying to regulate "what consenting adults do in private."
"The activity that occurs in this private setting among consenting adults is perfectly appropriate and lawful activity," Kammen said.
Deputy Prosecutor Melissa Kramer said all property owners need to abide by the ordinances.
"These defendants are not any different," Kramer said.
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