Legal News

Nobody Puts Rebecca in the Corner ? Dirty Dancing & the Law

By Dan Slater

We’ve covered pole dancing and the law. Now let’s address dirty dancing.

In 2005, an appeals court concluded that a Supreme Court case Dallas v. Stanglin closed the door on Rebecca Willis’s claim that her Depot-dancing was constitutionally protected expressive activity. The Fourth Circuit held:

The Town’s decision to prohibit lewd dancing at the Depot [a dancehall in Marshall, N.C.] is no different from a decision permitting or prohibiting any other conduct at the Depot. Just as the Town can prohibit drinking alcohol or smoking and can require patrons to wear shoes and shirts, the Town can prohibit lewd or otherwise inappropriate dancing, all without running afoul of the First Amendment.

Yet, the appeals court overturned a decision to dismiss Willis’s suit, saying a jury could conclude the town dance hall committee tried to single out Willis and punish her with its decision to ban her for life. Yesterday, the town of Marshall agreed to pay $275,000 for banning Willis, 64, from a community dance hall on allegations her moves were too risqué. Here’s a report from the Citizen-Times.

The town, according to court documents, said that residents complained she danced in a sexually provocative manner, wearing short skirts while “simulating sexual intercourse with her partner.”

One of her attorneys, Jon Sasser, who was reportedly hired by the ACLU, told the Citizen-Times that the size of the settlement shows a win for Willis. But Larry Leake, an attorney for the town, said Marshall’s insurance company advocated the settlement. The town believes it did nothing wrong and would have prevailed in a trial, he said.

Willis said the only thing she regrets is not being able to go to the Depot — not that she would have ever danced there again. As part of the settlement, the ban stays in place. “I wanted my right to go back into that building,” she said.

LB Trivia of the Week: Scenes from Dirty Dancing were filmed in Lake Lure, N.C. about 50 miles from Marshall and its Depot. Do you think they inspired Willis?

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on November 14, 2008 (boomark / email).