Mike Shank, Highlander Marketing Inc., Festival Promotions LLC and Myrtle Beach Harley-Davidson filed the suit against the city in U.S. District Court. It’s the 3rd lawsuit filed to stop Myrtle Beach from enforcing the recently passed ordinances to curb the motorcycle rallies. Plaintiffs seek an injunction to have the ordinances declared unconstitutional. Last Monday, The Motorcycle Law Group of North Carolina filed a lawsuit Monday in Horry County Common Pleas Court challenging the city’s right to create a local helmet law and to enforce its amended noise ordinance. Last Thursday, a suit was filed in federal court on behalf of The Dog House Bar & Grill, The Master’s Club, Steel Horse Saloon, Club Kryptonite and myrtlebeachbikeweek.com, a site owned and maintained by Sonny Copeland of North Carolina.
29 Responses to “Third Lawsuit To Stop New Myrtle Beach Rally Rules”
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Now we are talking! Now we will see for sure what businesses will stand up and be counted in Myrtle Beach and who will not.
Over & Out,
Jeff
hopefully it becomes a class action lawsuit
Don’t spend your money where you’re not wanted…I bet there are other North or Spouth Carolina beach towns that would love to have the rally in these economic times. The people of Myrtle Beach have screwed the American Biker with road blocks. You want to replace your pipes in order to go back to a town that hates you…Teach them a lesson and let it serve as a warning to other towns, Daytona, Sturgis, Hollister Laconia who depend on our money that they need us more than we nedd them.
I was there this past week and basically avoided the city. I did drive up Business 17 a couple of times but didn’t stop at any motorcycle activities in town. And I thought the same thing–there are people inside the city limits that appeared in protest of these ridiculous rules. We need to know who they are. Maybe we can support them when we are down in our cars.
Myrtle Beach got what they wanted. From all my reports, the fall rally was a total flop. Vendors reporting not only the worst revenue-generating rally of the year but one on the worst of all time.
I also received reports that the police set up just down from the HD dealership and conducted a checkpoint that caused a real traffic jam for the little amount of people that did dare to attend.
What a shame this is all happening to such a great rally event. I always enjoyed the event.
MB will never see my dollars again.
Myrtle Beach is a great town…..
FOR ME TO POOP ON!!!!!
Good God…give it up already. If I’m not invited to a party because I’m not wanted there…guess what…I don’t show up just in spite of it all…I find somewhere to go that I am wanted and appreciated. All this lost energy spent fighting this is soooooo stupid people.
So the fall rally was peaceful as I said it would be and relatively quiet with out too many problems. Not many real bikers were seen in Myrtle Beach. The bike tourist simply rolled through Myrtle on their way to the north or south side. Their were a lot of people that were not yet aware of the 2 Year long Boycott of Myrtle Beach. Now they know. So now that the easy going, wonderful, friendly, and profitable, rallies are a thing of the past and we enter into a new error called Mayhem and Anarchy things will be different. I do not expect all the posers or red neck drunks with bikes as I like to call them, to be going back to Myrtle Beach. Most of these posers will stay away.
What is important is now that everyone has had a chance to sit down and solidify the plans for Mayhem, the word is out. We are asking all tourists to Boycott Myrtle Beach for not less than two years regardless of how the law suits turn out. This TIME the word is going to spread like fire.
No the word is out for all the tourist to joine in the Boycott. Please come to the grand strand but do not stay or spend any money in Myrtle Beach. Please do not give up. Most of us in Myrtle Beach are for the rallys.
Some of you will be sad to hear that I survived the fall pilgrimage bike rally. I am proud to say that I did not spend one penny in Myrtle Beach. Not one penny, unless you count all the gas I used, which I did not buy in Myrtle Beach. I almost ran out of gas but I made it back to N.M.B. On reserve.
I road to Broadway at the beach where I say about half the number that I had even expected. The real bikers were on the south side and the North side loyal locals, stayed north and supported are local establishments.
What I say at Broadway at the beach was a whole lot of r e d n e c k posers dressed like bikers spending money. So thank you to those of you that came but did not spend money in Myrtle Beach. Even the ones that did not come at all were of more support than those posers at Broadway that did not support the Boycott. I have no problem with people supporting some of the local motorcycle, shops, bar, clubs, and loyal businesses, but supporting B&C by spending money at Broadway at the beach is no way to send a message to the city council. It all looked good in theory a month or two ago. But we were thinking of bikers coming together to send a message. Not a bunch of self center drunk red necks on motorcycles. So I am sure that all of you that were in Myrtle Beach putting all those lame a s s tee shirts, bandanas and jewelry into your saddle bags know who you are.
I also talked with local business owners. It is obvious to me that all their eggs are in one basket. They are totally dependent on the lawsuits being able to resolve this tragedy for are local economy. They all have the same talk, about how they are the ones being hurt, which is the TRUTH, but what I keep wondering is why all these business people do not have more say over what their city is saying and doing. I thought that in most towns the business were the heart of the community. I have to think they could have done something, but I must admit that I do not know what. Short of a public uprising.
So I guess we will have to see if the lawyers can fix this or if it is up to the black bikers come Mayhem. Wow, the black bikers might just have some kind of real message that will be heard, because all I saw in Myrtle Beach was a bunch of r e d n e c k posers supporting Myrtle Beach and not supporting the Boycott.
So like I have said before, there are many posers that will not Boycott. They are not real bikers. They are drunken red necks that come here and get drunk and spend money and act like fools and now they say they are not coming back. Good, that is your choice.
But as for are TRUE brethren we expect you to come for the next two years. Stay in the towns next to Myrtle. Like North Myrtle. We love the bikers as do the majority of people in Myrtle Beach that are stuck with their insane and out of control nazzi mayor and city council. So do not give up with out a least giving them some kind of message. Please keep coming, show up, raise h e l l or just ride through and let them know we are still here and will be Boycotting Myrtle for the next two year. Then if you want to go some where else then you should.
P.S. any plans to move to any place else at this TIME would be counter productive and any rumors of such, would be made up and coming from posers and Greyhem Gremlins as we like to call them. Thank you all for you support.
Ride Hard.
The weather was perfect for the rally. Atendence was definatly down, I feel mostly due to the economy. Those that came did find fewer vendors and I personaly feel this will change everyware just because of the economy. We had loads of customers come in our shop with various opinions about all the city bullshit. Some still had a great time and just stayed out of the city itself. Several groups said they came regardless of all the bullshit. Some said they would never come back. As always we did our best to help all those who’s bikes broke down. My wife was interviewed and on the evening news……..Great job Nancy! As I said before we live, work ,ride, and love it here. And Yes we still support the bikers……and always will.
Lee, we were there too. The weather was beautiful. Is your business inside Myrtle Beach City Limits? Or are you in Horry County?
Lee,
I feel for you from a business perspective as I am a small business owner myself. But, you’re kidding yourself to keep blaming the economy on the low attendance. I live in Columbia and everyone here I know that said they weren’t going to Myrtle Beach had made that decision based on the b.s. ordinances passed by your self-righteous city council.
The longer you and other business owners in M.B. hide your heads in the sand and blame the economy, the more damage it will do. I genuinely hope you can all get organized and get these asshole politicians voted out of office. It’s your city, not theirs.
I live and work in Washington D.C…..we dont impose or enforce laws to stop peoples right to assembly and freedom of speech. Its unconstitutional for the government to threaten to impose fines for merely calling on groups to meet at specific locations for an event.
I think Myrtle Beach knows that many of the ordinances are boarder line infringing on rights and figure they will be able to keep some of the ordinances after they hit court. However, it is wrong to pass ordinances that are in clear violation of state and federal laws in the first place.
I feel bad for M.Beach economy…cause it will suffer more as a result of these ordinances if they stay in effect thru the 09 year.
I live in the number one tourists town in the country. We have protests and events daily in the Nations Capital. When I heard of the ordinances and actually read them last week. I was concerned about the ordinance that threaten to toss the bill at any one or group who promote a bike week function and requires City resources to manage it.
That is a direct infringement on the right to Assembly…and will be challenged in court.
Why dont the City of Myrtle Beach put the bill on the state? In DC…the city gets the federal government to flip the bill for mass events such as 4th of July and Innauguration. Myrtle need to do the same and stop looking foolish.
Sidney Paul,
Washington, DC has its own set of problems with constitutional issues. (2nd amendment)
DC also has a unique set of circumstances that allows it to bill the fed for anything.
Go where you are wanted leave where youre not. I won’t waste my time or my money there to make a point or not. I applaud the business owners in the area for their effort but if you want to make a point close up and leave. I won’t go back for anything. Just my opinion, this has been happening far to often lately. Dippy little towns biting the hand that feeds them. Let them starve. See how they do hosting the national shuffleboard finals or the world bingo championships, its more their speed.
Tom R
What other rights and freedoms are you willing to relinquish?
Living between MB and NMB but reporting to an office in MB on my Softail might be a problem. It is my only form of transportation. V&H pipes with quiet baffles might still be too loud for the MB slugs. One thing, most everything found in MB can be found elsewhere so that is where I will be buying. Remember, prohibition was thought to be a wonderful thing when passed but turned out to be the worst mistake ever made by big brother.
Strange that nobody here has even mentioned the real problem with the bikers. Loud gatherings of people that go to 2-4am in the morning when locals are trying to sleep. All we want is to find a way for bikers AND the locals to get along harmoniously. We have lost a big portion of May which is the PRIME month here in Myrtle Beach.
It was getting to the point where other out of town tourists were avoiding MB as a vacation destination in May because of the dominating presence of the bikers.
There has to be a balance for it to work for everyone. To simply say that people in MB are the bad guys without acknowledging the noise issues and other problems is counterproductive and biased.
We are grateful that you spend your hard earned money here with local businesses but that doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want whenever you want.
WGS and TRIUMPH
Our shop is outside the city limits, we are in Murrells Inlet , just an stones throw from SBB 4 corners.
To set the record straight WE have been fighting all this bull shit from the beginning. I have been interviewed on TV several times with our support for the rally and the end to these stupid city council idiots. My wife was on TV as well. people here know where we stand and we are all doing as much as we can. We are up against BIG money that is behind this crap. That is why we need everyones support. B&M is the oldest motorcycle shop down here, at the end of the month they are done. He IS in the city limits. This is just a sin, how a few people with deep pockets can ruin so many things for those of us that don’t.
Some one wrote: Just because I do not choose to own or ride a motorcycle, does not mean that the helmet law doesn’t concern me. I am concerned about safety. I am also in favor of the laws and ordinances that has been passed by our city.
If Horry County decides to step into the role of controlling a police state then just maybe they can do a better job then some of are little Mickey Mouse towns. Maybe, just maybe they can do the job right and enforce all laws equally and fairly, all of the TIME and for all people and not just single out certain types, or ethnics. They should not discriminate against anyone because of age, race, creed, religion, or lack of religion, but at the same Time should not give special allowance to any of theme either. Equal justice for all under the laws and ordinances, all the TIME.
The next group that Myrtle Beach needs to deal with are the ones that should have been the very first. Bad drivers. They are a big part of high insurance cost on the grand strand. If we are going to have a reputation as a no nonsense, ridged, strict or restrictive kind of place then their should be no reason not to go all out and start enforcing the laws we already have as well as add a few more new ordinances. I am talking about public safety, and drivers that are dangerous.
We need to stop the elderly from driving. They are the most dangerous group the strand has encountered yet. The elderly tourists are and have always been a Hugh problem and yet year after year for decades nothing has ever been done about it.
We must put a stop to cell phone drivers as well. Everyone some how thinks that they are special. They know other are a threat to society and are a danger on the road, but none of them see them selves as a threat. The fact is that none of us are so special or super human that we should be allowed to drive while talking on a cell phone.
And let’s not forget about the teenagers with almost no experience at all. And yet they get to drive around with a new permit, blasting the 1000 watt sub wolver stereo systems, and racing their hi RPM, loud exhaust, Semi suspension-less almost on the ground, street race cars up and down the grand strand while text messaging other inexperienced street hoods. Let just hope that they are not taking the illegal ecstasy at the time. And they do this all season long until die, kill someone, grow up or move away.
With all of these dangers being ignored every day it is way past TIME for are so called trusted servants to start enforcing the laws equally and fairly, and to include all that are a threat to safety and live style. If they do not act right away and start make things right, then we should and must vote them all out of office. Now rather than later.
Lot’s of people when we were at the beach for Fall Rally thanked us for coming. A restaurant that we frequent thanked us and asked us not to allow the MB city council to stop us from coming. A motel owner in the City Limits asked a friend of mine to come back in May and hopefully they would have it all “straightened out” by then. I know it is tough on those who support the rally and are not being heard. Hopefully when Horry county meets tomorrow, they will not follow along with these crazy laws. I come down to the beach 4-5 times a year. I won’t be spending money in the city limits but again…there are businesses in the city limits that aren’t being heard. Good luck Lee with your business.
WGS
Thanx brother , I appreciate your support. I really get tired of the ones that cry Oh booo hooo the city doesn’t want us so we won’t come. Sucks that I have come to this area for over 20 years, loved it so much that I moved here and spent a bundle to open a buisnees here and now have to deal with all this crap in addition to a crappy economy. But hey it’s still a great area , we have a nice shop with a lot of good customers……life goes on.
Thanx to all that still support us.
The motorcycles are now worthless, because they can no longer be driven legally. Myrtle Beach is worthless, because of crime and bad attitudes, and an extremely controlling ,unfriendly government. And now with the Boycotts, no one is going to be spending any money in Myrtle Beach.Their and many that live there that are also joining in on the Boycott.
City council can do what ever they like to the people of Myrtle Beach and they will do as they are told and like it.
For the last eight years, my family & I have spent two weeks each summer in MB, with one of those weeks being Harley Bike Week. In 2009, my family will spend our vacation time in another state.
Well, count me in for the boycott. I understand there are two sides of the story here. Yes, there are some loud obnoxious bikers who come down to MB. But at the same time, it’s a vacation town. What do people do on vacation? They let loose a little bit.
Why would anyone pick one of the top vacation beaches on the East coast and expect peace and quiet all year long?
In addition to me boycotting Bike Week, I’ve also moved my two golf tournaments that I usually throw down there. One in the Spring and one in the Fall outside of the bike weeks. I use to bring about 50 guys, about a third of which come from the UK. The UK guys usually take advantage of the exchange rate and buy everything they can put in their luggage to take home.
I also have a home down in Windy Hill. Thank goodness its in North Myrtle.
Myrtle beach is a vacation town. The antics of the city council is nothing more than elitism, something I despise. So, not only is Myrtle less one biker during bike week, they are also out two small sized golf tournaments and my revenue on the weekends when I’m down in North Myrtle.
If more people do this, it’s a pretty big impact.
They need to file a law suit against the State of SC, There speaker of the house Bobby Harell Has been tring to get restrictive legislation passed requiring special licences for 3 wheel bikes.This is all part of the master plain to make it more difficult for bikers.Call your senator and state rep.