- Platinum Plus Greenville has been entangled in civil litigation since its inception.
- Two wrongful death cases against Platinum Plus were settled out of court for a total of $1.2 million
- Solicitor Walt Wilkins said acts of prostitution were part of the strip club's business model.
- Platinum Plus will reopen in November under strict monitoring guidelines, according to a settlement.
Orange-striped barricades block the parking lot outside Platinum Plus in Greenville. A chain and padlock prevent entry through its front door.
The strip club remains closed under court order following an investigation into whether dancers at the club committed sex acts for money.
Scheduled to reopen in November, the business at 805 Frontage Road will operate under strict guidelines outlined by the 13th Circuit Solicitor's Office. Under those rules, authorities can request footage from the club's video surveillance cameras without obtaining search warrants, according to the Solicitor's Office.
The undercover investigation is the latest in a history of legal entanglements involving Platinum Plus, according to court records reviewed by The Greenville News.
The Greenville County Sheriff's Office has initiated three homicide investigations stemming from incidents on Platinum Plus premises and responded to more than 1,000 calls for service at the business, according to the Sheriff's Office.
Platinum Plus has been the defendant in wrongful death lawsuits and accused of over-serving alcohol to patrons later involved in serious wrecks, according to documents reviewed by The News. Two cases were settled out of court for a total of $1.2 million, records show.
In all, plaintiffs have named the club's owner, Elephant Inc., as the defendant at least nine times in Greenville County Common Pleas Court in 15 years.
Randy Hiller, an attorney for the owner of Platinum Plus, said the number of lawsuits is not above average for a business that serves alcohol.
"Insurance companies do not treat all businesses the same and neither should you," Hiller told The Greenville News in an email.
"The opportunity for an unfortunate event rises in proportion to the number of people that walk through the door as well as the nature of the operation. Any business selling alcohol has a higher premium than an equivalent volume business that does not," he said. "Comparing apples to apples, I do not believe that is an above-average number."
At a press conference detailing the recent yearlong investigation, Greenville County Sheriff Steve Loftis described Platinum Plus as a "stain" on the community.
"At least for six months, we have shut down a business that has helped spawn so many other crimes as far as use of drugs, sale of drugs, (and) the amount of DUIs that leave there on a regular basis," he said.
Inauspicious beginnings
Platinum Plus' legal battles began almost as soon as it opened its doors in Greenville.
Adult dance clubs here have been a point of contention among residents, government officials and club lawyers for more than a decade.
Platinum Plus joined the fray and ignited controversy before it opened when it advertised a grand-opening party featuring an adult film star in August 2000. Local religious leaders protested before a stripper could perform her first dance.
Greenville County filed suit alleging Platinum Plus and two other strip clubs were violating a county ordinance by operating sexually oriented businesses within 1,500 feet of a residence, school or church. The suit in 2000 ignited an 18-month legal dispute as lawyers debated where strip clubs could operate, how much skin dancers could show and whether the county ordinance was legally valid.
Platinum Plus and two other clubs counter-sued seeking a strict definition of nudity and semi-nudity. Their lawyers also argued that the clubs shouldn't be considered sexually-oriented businesses.
In January 2002, the suits were settled. Under the agreement, the county's sexually-oriented business ordinance would not apply to dancers with a certain percentage of their breasts covered and wearing at least a 2-inch-wide thong. Both sides agreed that dancers wouldn't expose "specific anatomical areas" or perform simulated sex acts.
Problems arise
In February 2003, Stephen Paul Leone was fatally shot outside the strip club. Leone, visiting Greenville on a business trip, got into an argument inside the club with a Platinum Plus female entertainer and her boyfriend, according to a January 2006 wrongful death lawsuit filed by Leone's sister, Therese Bartholomew.
The dispute spilled into the parking lot where authorities said Karl Staton, the entertainer's boyfriend, shot Leone. Though Staton's lawyer, Pat Paschal, described the shooting as self-defense, Staton pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
In August 2009, Bartholomew's wrongful death lawsuit against Elephant Inc. was dismissed with prejudice.
Thomas Salane, a lawyer for Platinum Plus in the case, could not be reached for comment. Neither Bartholomew nor her attorney returned requests for comment.
In October 2008, Western Heritage Insurance filed a complaint against Platinum Plus asserting the insurance company had no duty to defend any party in connection with the Bartholomew lawsuit or pay anyone based on its insurance policy. The parties settled the matter and the complaint was dismissed without prejudice, according to court documents.
Suit alleges club over-served alcohol
In May 2006, Timothy G. Roberts went to Platinum Plus and spent $3,170, according to a 2007 court document filed when his mother sued Elephant Inc. in a wrongful death lawsuit. Roberts ordered one bottle of Jordan Chardonnay at 3:35 a.m., a bottle of Dom Perignon at 4:51 a.m. and another bottle of Dom Perignon at 5:26 a.m., court documents show.
He drank most, if not all, of the wine and champagne, according to the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment. He left the nightclub and started driving the wrong way on I-385 as other vehicles swerved to avoid him, according to court documents.
Roberts died in a wreck about 6 a.m. on the interstate. He had a blood alcohol content of .228 — nearly three times the legal limit.
Patricia Hagemann, 54, of Simpsonville, also died in the wreck. A wrongful death lawsuit against Elephant Inc. was filed on behalf of Hagemann's estate in 2009. The case was settled for $495,000, according to court records.
Roberts' mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit alleging that Platinum Plus employees knew her son was extremely intoxicated and should have taken steps to prevent him from driving home.
In a deposition, David A. Hill Jr., a VIP room host at the club, said that Platinum Plus pressured employees to sell alcohol, according to court documents in the case. Hill said he witnessed sexual activity in the Couch Room at Platinum Plus, the court documents allege.
The plaintiffs contended that Platinum Plus was known for allowing lewd, immoral and improper entertainment to occur, court documents show.
Lawyers for Elephant Inc. argued that state law barred an adult from suing for injuries resulting from his own conduct, according to a motion filed by the defendants.
Judge Edward W. Miller ruled in favor of Elephant Inc. in September 2008. The plaintiffs filed a motion to reconsider and Miller denied it. The Court of Appeals dismissed the case in 2009. The state Supreme Court declined to review the case in June 2012.
Disputes with security
In March 2010, a homicide investigation stemmed from a dispute between a male patron and Platinum Plus security.
Three bouncers carried 36-year-old Joseph Collura out of the club and left him in the parking lot unconscious and bleeding, according to court documents. One of the bouncers, Jason Alan Purcell, was accused of putting his arm around Collura's neck. Collura died from asphyxiation after the altercation, an autopsy said.
Purcell pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and received five years probation. His lawyer in the case, Hiller, said Purcell didn't intend to hurt Collura.
In May 2011, Collura's wife, Trina Collura, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Elephant Inc. Collura and the insurance carrier for the defendants settled out of court in May 2013. She was awarded $750,000 under the agreement in return for a full and complete release of further liability for any claims, according to court documents.
James C. Cox, who represented Elephant Inc. and Platinum Plus in the case, could not be reached for comment.
In February 2014, Jose Luis Acevedo-Lopez of Duncan refused to pay for services rendered and got into a fight with security guards, authorities said. He was charged with fatally shooting one of them. The case is pending.
The latest legal wrangle
The violent incidents, the calls-for-service history and the numerous complaints about prostitution led to the latest undercover investigation, Loftis said.
Last year, two deputies began a yearlong probe into prostitution at Platinum Plus. The officers gathered information about the Champagne Room, befriended employees and witnessed acts that they alleged repeatedly breached the consent order the club agreed to more than a decade ago.
Deputies spent $26,000 in drug-seizure money during the investigation and signed 69 arrest warrants this year in the case. All but one of the charges alleged prostitution or exposure of private parts in a lewd and lascivious manner.
The Sheriff's Office charged 15 dancers with committing sexual acts for money and exposing their genitals. Others were charged with aiding and abetting the prostitution.
Thirteenth Circuit Solicitor Walt Wilkins said the acts of prostitution were part of the nightclub's business model. Loftis called it a "public brothel."
Wilkins' lawsuit alleged that Platinum Plus was a public nuisance and sought to close the business for a year under state law. Elephant Inc. denied that a nuisance existed at the location but agreed to terms of the settlement earlier this month.
Platinum Plus agreed in a consent order to pay $66,500 and remain closed until November. The settlement stipulated that Platinum Plus pay $50,000 for legal costs for the lawsuit that sought to close the business, $10,000 to a non-profit that fights human trafficking in the Upstate and $6,500 for an independent company to monitor Platinum Plus.
The business, which according to court documents filed this spring attracted more than 85,000 visitors in the past year, will be closed a total of six months.
The consent order requires the nightclub to maintain surveillance video cameras in all places where dancers and customers interact.
"We will more than likely send plainclothes officers in there to do the monitoring," Loftis said.
Staff writer Anna Lee contributed.
