Georgia- Because of an order proclaiming Tuesday to be a National Day of Mourning for President Gerald Ford, a federal court hearing on the Love Shack in Johns Creek has been rescheduled from Tuesday to Wednesday.
The new hearing will be 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Richard Russell Federal building in Atlanta.
After a cursory tour of the Love Shack, Fulton County Code Enforcement officers cited Love Shack owner John Cornetta [pictured] with operating an adult business without proper zoning. To be declared an adult business, the officers had to determine that more than 25 percent of the store’s inventory was adult as defined in county ordinances. County officials believe that would be a “significant” amount of adult material, which might prompt federal Judge Thomas Thrash to cite Cornetta and close the store.
In a hearing Dec. 20, Thrash told Cornetta that he could be found in contempt of court if he continued to operate with a “significant” amount of adult material. He did not define “significant.” Cornetta immediately began taking much of his adult material off the shelves and re-stocking it with innocuous wares, such as cheap purses, scarves, and comic books. He said he believes his adult inventory is less than 5 percent of the total.
The primary issue is whether the Love Shack meets the county’s definition of an adult business, and whether it has or even needs various county permits, licenses and zoning to operate,
On Dec. 21 Thrash in a written order disallowed Johns Creek’s team of attorneys from participating in future hearings. Although the store is open in what is now Johns Creek, Fulton County has been in charge of the case because proceedings began before Johns Creek officially became a city. The city’s lawyers have asked the judge to reconsider his decision barring them from helping the county.
On a separate front, Cornetta’s lawyers have appealed Thrash’s Dec. 20 decision to the federal 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.