NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Owners of the shuttered Scotty Quixx nightclub are suing Norfolk City Council members.
10 On Your Side obtained a copy of the lawsuit — filed in U.S. District Court in June — which claims council singled out the downtown business because of its largely African-American clientele.
They’re demanding compensation for money lost when the city revoked the business’ special use permit.
“The City and City Council unconstitutionally abused the power and resources of government to target and effectively destroy Scotty Quixx’s business because they did not want the young racial minority clientele it served in Downtown Norfolk,” the introduction to the lawsuit states, later stating that “Scotty Quixx and its employees, owners and customers were collateral damage in the City and City Council’s desperate and misguided attempt to address violence in the wake of incidents near other establishments (not Scotty Quixx) in Downtown Norfolk in 2022.”
The city said the nightclub’s sales reported to the ABC didn’t match the taxes it paid to the city.
A settlement conference has been scheduled in U.S. District Court for 9:30 a.m. Dec. 13 to discuss “a compromised resolution of this case.”
Last November, Scotty Quixx’s owners announced they were suing the city of Norfolk in Norfolk Circuit Court to demand that their business be allowed to operate and be awarded up to $2 million in damages.
The owners then said in April that they would not reopen after the city of Norfolk had forced them to shut down last September.
A scheduled jury trial for earlier in August in Norfolk Circuit Court was listed as “continued generally,” according to online court records.