Verdicts and Settlements
Woman Banned for Dirty Dancing Settles Suit for $275K
Posted Nov 14, 2008, 11:01 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
A North Carolina woman who claimed her constitutional rights were violated when she was banned from town dances has settled the case for $275,000.
The Asheville Citizen-Times reported the settlement, which won’t allow plaintiff Rebecca Willis back into the dance hall in Marshall, N.C.
Town officials banned Willis from the dance hall in December 2000, citing her provocative dancing. In May, the Richmond, Va.-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said there is evidence that Willis was singled out and her trial could go forward.
“I won my lawsuit,” Willis told the Asheville Citizen-Times. She was represented by Jon Sasser, a lawyer hired by the American Civil Liberties Union.