LAS VEGAS — The federal judge hearing Dennis Hof’s latest legal battle with Nye County leaders has ordered the Love Ranch brothel’s license reinstated, allowing it to reopen as early as 8 a.m. tomorrow.
U.S. District Judge Richard Boulware’s temporary restraining order also prohibits two Nye County commissioners, who are named as defendants in other lawsuits by Hof, from voting on licensing matters going forward.
"We won!" Hof said this afternoon. "The Love Ranch opens tomorrow morning."
Hof’s latest lawsuit against the Southern Nevada county stems from the county Board of Commissioner’s decision not to renew his Love Ranch brothel license and the subsequent closure of the venue by the county Sheriff’s Office. Nye County is about an hour's drive from Las Vegas.
Hof, who is running for state assembly, alleged that the board unlawfully and maliciously shut down his business in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments and as a vendetta for pending lawsuits against board members Dan Schinhofen and Andrew Borasky, as well as the sheriff.
Hof must pay a $5,000 security bond, Boulware ordered in the TRO.
The brothel owner tapped industry attorney Marc Randazza of Randazza Legal Group in Las Vegas to litigate the case.
Randazza told XBIZ: "The judge found that the county's actions were in retaliation for Dennis Hof's political speech, and then for filing a lawsuit to protect his right to that political speech. The First Amendment to rescue an adult business again."
Last week, some of the Love Ranch’s workers were vocal over the brothel’s closure at the Nye County’s Board of Commissioners’ biweekly meeting.
Several Love Ranch workers said that they were ready to file a class-action lawsuit against the county for putting them out of work.
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