Settlement of Measure B Case Near, Though Parties Still Disagree

LOS ANGELES—According to a press release from AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) dated today, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, which has overseen the lawsuit against the AHF-sponsored Measure B, has voted to settle that lawsuit, which was originally brought by Vivid Entertainment Group and two adult industry performers. Measure B, formally known as the County of Los Angeles Safer Sex in the Adult Film Industry Act, required that all adult content shot within the county employ condoms and other barrier protections for the performers involved. While the exact terms of the settlement have not yet been announced, the parties have until the end of this month to inform Judge Dean D. Pregerson, who is presiding over the lawsuit, of just what the parties have agreed to. "By declining to pursue their lawsuit any further, the porn industry has thrown in the towel on Measure B," claimed AHF president Michael Weinstein, but until the exact terms of the settlement are made public, the "on the ground" effect(s) of the settlement on the adult industry are unknown—and AHF itself has yet to sign off on the settlement! However, attorneys for Vivid, including prominent First Amendment attorneys Paul Cambria and H. Louis Sirkin, deny that Vivid has "thrown in the towel," and have doubts about how the county will enforce the Measure going forward. "We both feel that since the settlement has just been approved by the county and remains currently unsigned on behalf of Vivid and AHF, it is premature for a statement regarding the settlement be made at this time," the attorneys said in a joint statement. "It is our position that most all of Measure B was ruled unconstitutional by the District Court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and is, therefore, in its current form, unenforceable by the County. When the settlement is fully executed a further comment will be issued by Vivid."