Club owner files suit against city
By CHRISTOPHER BOBBY Tribune Chronicle
POSTED: May 7, 2008
WARREN — The owner of a now-shuttered after-hours club filed a counterclaim against the city of Warren, saying he was the victim of selective enforcement and defamation on the part of police officers.
The counterclaim by LaShawn Ziegler is incorporated in an answer filed Monday by his attorney, Gilbert Rucker, in response to the city’s nuisance claim about Benji Brown’s — the North Park Avenue club that the city shut down last month.
The counterclaim, according to Rucker, is intended for federal court since it claims civil rights violations.
The original nuisance lawsuit by the city is tied up in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court. After being filed and then dismissed on a technicality before being re-filed, both sides are due in the courtroom of Judge John M. Stuard Tuesday.
Warren Law Director Greg Hicks has called the counterclaim nonsense.
‘‘There was illegal sales of alcohol and disrespect for the neighbors in that area. Since when are we wrong for enforcing the law,’’ Hicks said, without reading details in Rucker’s filing.
Rucker states in the counterclaim that noise, or other complaints, are no more in number than other bars in Warren.
‘‘The city has hampered LaShawn’s ability to make a living for six years. We decided to bring everything to the table,’’ Rucker said Tuesday. ‘‘Clearly other establishments are greater nuisances.’’
Ziegler has sued the city in federal court twice before — once over a strip search and also over the closing of another Ziegler club, Soul 77. There were settlements in both those actions.
State authorities raided Benji Brown’s early April 5 and charged Ziegler with illegal alcohol sales and operating an illegal establishment. He has pleaded not guilty. And he and two women also charged with illegal sales are due back in Warren Municipal Court June 6.
After the raid, Ziegler said he intended to reopen the club. To stop him, Hicks filed the complaint to have the property declared a nuisance.
Stuard issued a temporary order, shutting down the business and allowing the city to board up the building but allowing Ziegler to continue to live in an upstairs apartment.
Hicks and assistant law director Traci Timko Rose said the technicality that caused the complaint to be dismissed was an incorrect caption on the coversheet that read ‘‘City of Warren vs Ziegler’’ rather than ‘‘State of Ohio in behalf of Warren vs Ziegler.’’
cbobby@tribune-chronicle.com
Member Comments
View Comments: | 1-11 | Post a comment
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smokey
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05-08-08 4:16 PM
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AM glad i didn't live near this "business" thank god!! but all i have to say to the city of warren is "STAND YOUR GROUND AND FOLLOW IT ALL THE WAY",, lol, civil rights violation,selective enforcement,defamation oh good greif give me a break looks like someone got hooked on phonics. and to TONELLI, i'll go with you about the police force there are some bad apples it has personally happened to me on more than one occassion which had the cheif involved my suggestion is to let doug franklin know of any misdeeds of the force he is the saftey service director trust me we have talked alot. second as for the neighbors don't they have rights to live in peace i live around alot of establishments plus harding high and no one has ever been shot around those places and they don't disturb me, what if that bullet that was shot would have went accross the street and killed someone that had nothing to do with the bar??. like i tell my kids the crowd you hang around with is what
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Pandora
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05-07-08 8:51 PM
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Why can't the neighbors who had to deal with this mess sue him for the issues he caused them??? The city needs to stop settling with him.
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DisplacedBuckeye
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05-07-08 4:07 PM
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I was born and raised in Warren but, I've lived in S.C for many yrs. I read the Tribune faithfully everyday. It's stuff like this that make me glad I chose elsewhere to raise my child!!!
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tlg511
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05-07-08 1:55 PM
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Okay - so when he put on a concert in NILES, there was trouble. When he had 77 Soul in NILES, there was trouble. So if it was not him and his running of things, maybe the WHOLE STATE OF OHIO is against him - GET *&**& REAL
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Tonelli
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05-07-08 10:15 AM
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What you all fail to realize is although his club bothers neighbors, so does many other establishments. I'm no fan of Ziegler, but Warren police and the City are constantly violating the civil rights of it's citizens. I've witnessed as much several weeks ago by officer David Weber. It's very easy to sit at a keyboard and play judge & jury but until you or a member of your family is victimized by Warren police you'll never get it. There is a reason the Dept. of Justice is so focussed on this City and if this was all a crock of sh!t they'd be elsewhere. Face the facts folks, this is a racist municipality! Your small minds fail to see what the D.O.J. does.
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tlg511
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05-07-08 9:41 AM
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do not settle - do not pay this scum anything. He give legitimate bars and night clubs a bad name. If Warren is keeping him from making a living, MOVE SOMEWHERE ELSE.
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DeputyDog
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05-07-08 9:40 AM
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Civil rights violation. Yeah, right. How does he figure that? Sounds more like the rights of those, that had to put up with the garbage, caused at his establishment, were the ones violated. Save that defense for the folks that have a legit claim. Admit you are wrong, and face the music.
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pahootaman
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05-07-08 9:34 AM
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this Ziegler guy has balls the size of two Jupiters!
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Mnich82266
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05-07-08 8:29 AM
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“Selective enforcement and Defamation” OMG! What IDIOTS both Ziegler and Rucker are! ………………………………. Ziegler’s “Business” has caused nothing but fear and distress for anyone that lives in the area, as well as the rest of us who have to read about and see on the 6:00 News………………….. The Police have been trying to protect residents from him and his clientele’s shenanigans. They have caught him red handed on numerous occasions and he files: “defamation”? He’s kidding right?!................ I am wondering just how much the city is going to pay this parasite this time? I cannot believe that they cower to this joker. “Civil Rights”? This IS all nonsense.
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OldManGrump2
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05-07-08 6:02 AM
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This is a laughable statement. Please just go away.
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Judyann
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05-07-08 12:14 AM
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Not a NUISANCE? Give me a break! Benji Browns was a nuisance even when it was on 422, it will always be a nuisance. This guy is a real creepo who is nothing but trouble everywhere he goes, he is one of the last persons on the planet who should have a bar. He sells, deals, delivers his wares to stupid people who hang out anywhere near him. Keep him closed down, civil rights my butt.
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