Bubba the Love Sponge Clem and his partner in the defunct Planet Bubba sue, saying the county's actions led to their business failure.
By WILL VAN SANT
Published August 26, 2003
Controversial Tampa radio personality Bubba the Love Sponge Clem has filed a lawsuit charging that Hernando County violated his constitutional rights.
Clem and business partner Richard Fabrizi are seeking in excess of $15,000 in damages for what the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Tampa last week, describes as a pattern of harassment that led to the closing of their club, Planet Bubba.
The club at Forest Oaks Boulevard and U.S. 19 in Spring Hill opened in April 1999. It quickly gained a reputation as a hot night spot for a younger crowd in an area teeming with retirees. It also gained a reputation for booming bass music, boisterous patrons and insensitivity to neighbors' complaints.
After a round of spats with county officials, who slapped Planet Bubba with a $500 fine for violating the county's noise ordinance, the club closed in May 2000.
Clem and Fabrizi's St. Petersburg attorney did not return a call from the Times on Monday.
According to the lawsuit, the county "sometime during 1999 or 2000 . . . formulated a plan to harass, intimidate, interfere and close" Planet Bubba.
Patrol cars from the Hernando County Sheriff's Office were parked across the street from the club to intimidate patrons, it is alleged. Further, the lawsuit states, police officers issued bogus tickets to patrons and buzzed Planet Bubba with helicopters.
Hernando County Sheriff Richard Nugent did not return a call from the Times seeking comment.
County Attorney Garth Coller said his office had not yet seen the lawsuit and he was not able to comment in any detail.
"For the record," Coller added, "we have not violated anyone's civil rights and would never do so."
Another key complaint in the lawsuit involves a revamped noise ordinance that Clem and Fabrizi say was formulated specifically to thwart their business.
Angry residents persuaded county commissioners to make it a misdemeanor for businesses that sell alcohol to play music that can be heard in residential neighborhoods. Planet Bubba was hit with a fine a week later and the club quickly closed.
Such actions, the lawsuit charges, violated Clem and Fabrizi's right to equal protection and to be free from police intimidation.
County Commissioner Nancy Robinson, the only remaining board member from when the noise ordinance was changed, said she would not comment on pending litigation.
While declining to discuss specifics of the case, Commission Chairwoman Betty Whitehouse said she cannot believe that the two are making legitimate claims.
"I really do feel confident in Hernando County that we do not violate people's civil rights," Whitehouse said.
Over the years, Clem, who has a popular morning show on radio station WXTB-FM 97.9 in Tampa, has been the focus of considerable media attention. Last year, he was charged with animal cruelty for castrating a boar on air. Clem was acquitted.
- Information from Times files was used in this report. Will Van Sant can be reached at 754-6127 or vansant@sptimes.com
