RI Supreme Court Approves Foxy Lady Settlement, Former Chief Justice to Monitor

RI Supreme Court Approves Foxy Lady Settlement, Former Chief Justice to Monitor

The City of Providence and the owners of the Foxy Lady have reached a settlement over the license and the future of the club. The Rhode Island Supreme Court approved the agreement on Thursday afternoon.

The documents refer to the Foxy Lady’s legal name "Gullivers."

The agreement raises questions about claims by Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza and Providence Public Safety Commissioner Stephen Pare who claimed that prostitution was rampant at the club.

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To date, three women were charged with a misdemeanor and none of the three have been convicted.

One woman was found innocent, another woman's charges were only filed and the third woman pled and received probation for six-months. Under RI law that does not constitute a conviction and can be immediately expunged.

"Gulliver's does not dispute that there is evidence that solicitation occurred on the premises on the date stated in the complaint, but Gulliver's management and employees were unaware of it. Gulliver's admits no fault, but recognizes that a violation of R.I.G.L. §3-5-21 could be established. The parties further agree that there is no evidence that the violations resulted from the gross negligence of the licensee or an operator thereof which would cause triggering of the provisions of Section 14-17 (c) of the Providence City Code," states the agreement.

Since January 10, the contentious high profile case has been mediated by former RI Chief Justice Frank Williams., “The parties have reached an agreement on a global settlement of their dispute, and have executed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU),” according to Court documents.

"I am delighted that the parties have agreed to this agreement. It took six months. It started off very thorny between the two parties," said Williams.

The club has also agreed to lower the partition walls in the VIP lounge from 4 feet to 3 feet. 

Going forward, Williams will also act as monitor with respect to supervision and enforcement of the terms of the settlement, all as provided by the terms of the MOU.

In addition, as part of the agreement, “Gulliver's hereby accepts a sanction in the form of a ten-day suspension which will be deemed served as a result of Gulliver's having been closed by order of the Board for twenty-two days in December 2018 and January 2019. Gulliver's hereby releases the City from liability for the period of the closure in excess of the agreed suspension period, and the appeal currently pending before DBR will be withdrawn."

This agreement will last three years.