(Washington, DC) – The office of District of Columbia Attorney General Linda Singer today requested the DC Superior Court to order the adult entertainment shop Fun Fair Video to immediately stop operating because it is doing so without a certificate of occupancy.

Singer, who has been working closely with Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) Director Linda K. Argo to shut down the shop, said, “Fun Fair Video has been operating outside of the law for too long.  We have taken action today in court to make clear that this is a new day and that Fun Fair must close its doors now.”

“DCRA is committed to taking strong and aggressive action against businesses that flagrantly disregard District laws and regulations,” Director Argo said. “DCRA’s investigations, combined with the enforcement authority of the Attorney General, will finally allow us to remove this business from the neighborhood.”

Fun Fair Video is located at 919 5th St., 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 (BZA).  On October 1, 2007, the BZA issued a written order denying the appeal.  Today, the Office of the Attorney General is requesting the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to order Fun Fair Video to immediately cease operating because it is doing so without a certificate of occupancy.

The hearing on the request for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) will be heard Wednesday October 17, 2007, at 10 a.m. in Judge in Chambers.