(Washington, DC) Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, Attorney General Linda Singer and Director of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) Linda K. Argo today announced that the DC Superior Court has granted a preliminary injunction against Fun Fair Video that will keep the adult entertainment establishment closed down until the middle of January 2008. 

Judge Gerald I. Fisher did not rule on Fun Fair’s request for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) to keep the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) from seeking to close the establishment down.

Fun Fair has filed several motions to avoid being closed down. Its appeal of a Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) Order of October 1, 2007, affirming revocation of its certificate of occupancy is pending before the Court of Appeals. On November 5, 2007, Fun Fair filed a motion to dismiss OAG’s complaint. OAG filed an opposition to this motion on November 8, 2007. On November 8, 2007, Fun Fair filed a new case for injunctive relief, asking for a TRO and a preliminary injunction. The case asks that the District be prohibited from enforcing Sexually Oriented Business Enterprise (SOBE) statutes because they are unconstitutional. OAG will be filing a motion to dismiss this new case filed by Fun Fair.

“We are pleased with the decision of the DC Superior Court to grant a preliminary injunction of Fun Fair Video,” Fenty said. “We will continue to work with the community to make this injunction permanent.”

“This case may seem legally complicated, but the law is clear: Fun Fair Video has been operating outside of the law for too long,” Singer said. “We will match Fun Fair move for move in court.”

“DCRA has waged a long battle with Fun Fair Video,” Argo said. “This business operated outside the scope of its Basic Business License and District zoning regulations for far too long. We join the Mayor, Attorney General and neighbors in welcoming the Superior Court decision that will keep Fun Fair’s doors shut.”

Judge Fisher set a status hearing date for the Fun Fair matter for January 18, 2008, at 11 am in Courtroom 519. Fun Fair will remain closed until that time. The status date was given because the Judge wants to wait for a decision on the BZA appeal pending before the Court of Appeals.

Fun Fair Video is located at 919 5th Street, NW, and specializes in the sale of erotic entertainment, including videos that show explicit sexual activity. On November 19, 1996, its owner, JMM Corporation, obtained a Certificate of Occupancy to operate a video membership store at this location. The certificate of occupancy stated that the allowed use was “not sexually-oriented”.  No other uses were authorized.

After a series of inspections, DCRA revoked Fun Fair’s certificate of occupancy because a significant and substantial portion of Fun Fair Video’s business was observed to be sexually oriented and because the certificate of occupancy did not authorize the mechanical amusement machines found on the premises.

DCRA also revoked JMM’s mechanical amusement machine license finding that “public decency was compromised by the activity in and around Fun Fair Video.” 

JMM did not close Fun Fair Video, but instead appealed these revocations to the Board of Zoning Adjustment.  On October 1, 2007, the BZA issued a written order denying the appeal.

The Fun Fair case is being handled by Senior Assistant Attorney General Michael Stern and Assistant Attorneys General Tasha Hardy and Louise Phillips.