Below is my press release for my lawsuit against the city of Lincoln, the state of Nebraska, the police department, the city council, and the liquor commission. I just filed it today...
LINCOLN, NEBRASKA
AUGUST 20, 2014
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SHANE HARRINGTON FILES $25 MILLION CIVIL RIGHTS LAWSUIT
CLUB SMOOTH WRONGFULLY DENIED LIQUOR LICENSE BY LIQUOR COMMISSION
Shane Harrington, owner of MelTech, Inc. (MelissaMidwest.com and ValMidwest.com) filed suit today in Federal District Court for the District of Nebraska. The lawsuit states that: ?This action arises primarily out of the persecution of Plaintiff for exercising his First Amendment rights, and includes Due Process violations, Equal Protection Violations, harassment, defamation, invasion of privacy, tortious interference, and other unlawful conduct on the part of government entities and individuals who abused their powers under the color and authority of law in violation of the Constitution and the laws of the United States and the State of Nebraska.? These entities include the City of Lincoln's Police Department and the Nebraska Liquor Commission, as well as former police Chief Tom Casady, current police Chief Jim Peschong, police officer Russel Fossler, former City Council Chairman John Spatz, and Nebraska Liquor Control Commission Executive Director Hobert Rupe. Plaintiff's claims under Nebraska Revised Statutes 28-926 for Oppression Under Color of Office carry civil and criminal penalties as a Class II misdemeanor.
?Mr. Harrington was denied a liquor license due to the exercise of his First Amendment rights,? said one of the Plaintiff's attorneys, Evan Spencer, ?Shane is a native Nebraskan who leased a commercial property in Lincoln, created his own vodka, and invested hundreds of thousands of dollars and thousands of hours into Club Smooth, which had every legal right to obtain a liquor license. The Defendants denied granting this license strictly based upon his ownership of adult web sites that are entirely legal and unrelated to the night club he wished to operate.? ?Ever since my ex-wife and I launched our web site MelissaMidwest.com ten plus years ago, the Lincoln Police Department has done everything they can to make my life hell in my home town of Lincoln Nebraska. I have been harassed by law enforcement officers on numerous occasions without cause and the police department has kept me under surveillance for a decade. At the licensing hearing, the State of Nebraska and City of Lincoln displayed a file (?The Book?) which contained years of unlawful surveillance of me, my family, my friends and business associates. They also displayed numerous nude photographs of my ex-wife for no other reason than to embarrass and humiliate me. I was treated like a criminal because they didn?t like the profession I chose. Club Smooth would have been a great nightclub for Lincoln but the denial of my liquor license application killed the club - I not only lost most of my life savings in the project, but it damaged my credibility in the business world and caused me a great amount of distress.?
?The details of this case have outraged everyone who has heard them,? said Mr. Spencer, ?in addition, our research discovered approximately 15 other cases where the Nebraska Liquor Commission wrongfully denied liquor license applications, where courts later reversed their findings and ordered that licenses be granted, generally as a result of arbitrary and unreasonable decisions. In the case of Club Smooth, the Defendants granted a liquor license to a subsequent applicant who had criminal convictions for DUI and making a false statement to a police officer and not enough financing to purchase or operate the facility. Clearly, Mr. Harrington was denied Equal Protection of the law.?
Plaintiff's Attorneys:
Legal Contact - Hugh Abrahamson:
[email protected]
Jill Abrahamson:
[email protected]
Media Contact - Evan Spencer:
[email protected]
U.S. District Court
District of Nebraska
Notice of Electronic Filing
The following transaction was entered on 8/20/2014 at 5:06 PM CDT and filed on 8/20/2014
Case Name: Harrington v. Nebraska Liquor Control Commission et al
Case Number: 4:14-cv-03171-LES-TDT
Filer:
Document Number: 2(No document attached)
Docket Text:
TEXT NOTICE OF JUDGES ASSIGNED: Senior Judge Lyle E. Strom and Magistrate Judge Thomas D. Thalken assigned. (MKR)