photo by: Rochelle Valverde

The building at 913 N. Second St., is pictured on April 27, 2022.

A judge has ruled that a longtime Lawrence strip club has been operating illegally under city code and has issued an order permanently prohibiting the club from doing business at its current location.

In a lawsuit filed Feb. 2 in Douglas County District Court, the city alleged that Allstars has been operating without the license required for a sexually oriented entertainment business. The city also claimed Allstars is ineligible to receive such a license under city code due to its proximity to homes and a city park, and requested that the court permanently prohibit Allstars from operating at its current location at 913 N. Second St.

The lawsuit is filed against Lawrence Entertainment Inc., which is doing business as Lawrence Allstars The Gentleman’s Club; Topeka residents Karim V. Crim and Kenneth Troupe, the owners of Lawrence Entertainment; as well as Riverfront Business Park as the property owner.

The City of Lawrence filed a motion for a default judgment against Lawrence Entertainment and Troupe on April 28. The city’s motion states that Lawrence Entertainment and Troupe were served the lawsuit on Feb. 15, and more than 21 days had passed since that time without a response from either party. The motion states Kansas law requires a party to answer or otherwise respond within that time period.

The city’s motion states that although Crim filed a response purportedly on behalf of the defendants in the case, the document does not constitute an answer or pleading on behalf of Lawrence Entertainment or Troupe. The city argues that since Crim is not a lawyer, he can only represent himself and not others. The city also argues that a corporation, such as Lawrence Entertainment, must be represented by an attorney. As a result, the city argued that because neither Lawrence Entertainment nor Troupe had responded, the court should issue a default judgment.

District Court Judge Mark Simpson agreed with the city and issued a default judgment on May 13 against Lawrence Entertainment and Troupe, and the case was subsequently terminated last week. Simpson wrote that Lawrence Entertainment and Troupe had not formally appeared and did not file a response in the 21 days required by law, and therefore the city was entitled to a default judgment.

Simpson states in the order that Lawrence Entertainment and Troupe are not eligible to receive a city license to operate a sexually oriented business based on the building’s location at 913 N. Second St. The order states that the building is less than 1,000 feet from several residentially zoned properties and less than 1,000 feet from Riverfront Park, and therefore operating a sexually oriented business in that location violates city code. The order “permanently enjoins,” or prohibits, Lawrence Entertainment and Troupe from operating a sexually oriented entertainment business at that location, or at any other location without a valid license.

Riverfront Business Park previously argued that it was only the landlord and should be dismissed from the case, but the court denied that motion. Crim’s response denied that the business had violated city code, as well as other claims made by the city.

In its original filing, the city also alleged that Allstars has been the site of “serious and numerous criminal infractions,” as the Journal-World previously reported. Crim stated in his response that Allstars has not had out-of-the-ordinary criminal infractions compared to other bars and that Lawrence Entertainment has remained compliant with all city codes known to it. Crim’s response also stated that the club had been operating in that location since March 2000 and had not previously been required to obtain a sexually oriented business license.