X-Mart, City Of Augusta Scheduled For Settlement Sit Down

Augusta, GA—For the better part of seven years, the city of Augusta has kept the adult video store, the X-Mart, from operating on the Gordon Highway, but some Commissioners realize time could be running out.

“It’s something we don’t want we don’t support but by law it is legal to do what they want to do,‘’ said Commissioner Joe Jackson.

In August the X-Mart’s owner was awarded 130 thousand dollars in damages from the city after a two day hearing in Federal Court.

The store is appealing to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, looking for even more money out of the city. But, now the store and the city are not looking at another day in court, instead both sides will have a sit-down with a mediator.

“Mediation is a court imposed a request strongly urged by the court to try and get the sides to settle,” says Bill Sussman, one of the stores lawyers.
Not only does the Court of Appeals want to hear from the lawyers on both sides of this case but also Augusta Commissioners, the ones who will have final say on whether this case gets settled.

“ I’m not going to be able to make it, but one of the Commissioners, or two of the Commissioners, are going to go to Atlanta. It will be interesting to find out, let’s find out what’s the negotiations on the table are,” says Jackson.

“All of this is fairly new to us we would have to consider what the damages are, what we would settle for what the terms would be we’re not anywhere near that yet,” said Sussman, when talking about a possible settlement with the city.

Though the Appeals Court is “strongly urging” the mediation, it does not have to lead to any settlement.

Sussman also says the mediation should not be interpreted as the court is leaning one way or another in the case; he says what cases the court decides to send to mediation are taken at random.

The session is tentatively set for October 28th.