After years of back and forth, the City of Dallas is apparently ready to settle its lawsuit with the Exxxotica Expo — to the tune of $650,000.
In August 2015, the Exxxotica Expo made a stop in Dallas. This would mark the first time the show was held in the city.
Though the programing included nothing out of the ordinary for the established trade show, according to a report from the Dallas News, undercover police officers and city prosecutors cased the show floor, looking for “trouble.” When the event wrapped, however, city officials reported that officers saw no problems — “no increase in reports of sex trafficking, no spike in prostitution, no violations of the state’s obscenity laws.”
But that didn’t stop the city from subsequently initiating a clusterfuck-level battle with the show.
When Exxxotica organizers began to work with convention center representatives on a contract renewal to hold future events in Dallas, the mayor’s office got involved. According to the Dallas News, nonprofits that worked with victims and survivors of sex trafficking wanted the show banned, insisting it was exploitative. Dallas land owner Ray Hunt and former US Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison also got in on the anti-Exxxotica action.
The city council was warned by several of its members, as well as the then-city attorney, that the convention didn’t violate any ordinances and that banning the event would likely violate its constitutional rights. Regardless, the mayor and seven council members voted in February 2016 to ban Exxxotica. Two weeks later, Exxxotica sued, claiming that the council violated its — wait for it — First Amendment rights.
Fast forward to May of 2017, when US District Judge Sidney Fitzwater dismissed Exxxotica’s lawsuit. The dismissal was a blow, but in October 2018, the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Fitzwater’s decision and sent the lawsuit back to the court. And though the Dallas News’ report seems to indicate the the city was hoping for a trial, it seems like they are now ready to settle.
The City Council will vote later this week on Wednesday to finalize the settlement. The council agenda shows that the settlement will come from the city’s risk-management funds.
Though this marks a win for Exxxotica, as well as a win for free speech and sexual expression, this entire thing is such a stupid waste.
