Thursday, Jul. 09, 2009

Opposition to Myrtle Beach bike laws awaits courts

3 lawsuits against MB still expect to be heard

Myrtle Beach is in a holding pattern when it comes to the lawsuits filed against it because of its motorcycle-rally ordinances.

Three of the four lawsuits filed since the spring are still moving forward. Two have been combined for the sake of oral arguments before the state Supreme Court, one rests in federal court in Florence awaiting its next steps, and the fourth has been dropped.

Tom McGrath, the Virginia-based attorney representing Myrtle Beach residents William and Carol O'Day and 47 others who received tickets for not wearing motorcycle helmets at the end of February, said he is waiting to hear from the state's high court.

The O'Days filed the lawsuit in Horry County Circuit Court asking a judge to stop the city from enforcing two of the new ordinances it passed last fall. But the city dropped plans for its administrative hearing court that would have handled citations given out for violating the city's helmet law and several other civil infractions when the state's chief justice called such courts unconstitutional.

That move negated a portion of the O'Days' lawsuit, leaving the section that asks a judge to end the city's helmet law.

But the O'Days were ticketed along with more than 47 others in a Feb. 28 protest ride when the new law took effect, so they are also part of the helmet lawsuits the Supreme Court agreed to hear.

McGrath said there might be little point in moving forward with the Circuit Court lawsuit now that the high court is going to issue a ruling.

The Supreme Court became involved after attorney Thad Viers, representing his brother Bart in a helmet lawsuit, and the group Business Owners Organized to Support Tourism appealed directly to the state's highest court for a ruling.

The city didn't object.

"From our perspective it was going to end up in Supreme Court anyway, so the sooner the better," said city spokesman Mark Kruea.

McGrath's and Viers' helmet arguments will be heard at the same time, but so far no court date has been set. McGrath speculated about a hearing in November. Viers couldn't be reached for comment.

The other case still pending is one filed in U.S. District Court in Florence. Myrtle Beach resident Don Emery, who owns the Steel Horse saloon and, until recently, owned The Dog House South, and several others are suing the city to stop it from enforcing some of the rally ordinances, including the helmet law, the regulations about advertising rallies and others.

The lawsuit claims some of the ordinances are unconstitutional because they are vague, chill freedom of speech or infringe on interstate business rights.

A similar lawsuit filed by rally promoter Mike Shank was dropped in June, but Emery's lawsuit continues. His attorney and the attorney representing the city could not be reached for comment, either, but the court docket shows nothing has been filed in that case since March.

Shank said he will reserve the right to file another lawsuit if it seems appropriate, but "in the end, it does come down to a cost issue, also."

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