Nevada Assembly candidate Dennis Hof can reopen brothel after federal judge’s ruling

Less than a month after Nye County officials closed Dennis Hof’s Love Ranch brothel, a federal judge on Monday gave the brothel boss and Republican Assembly candidate his license back — for now.

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Boulware’s ruling comes after a fight between Hof and Nye County commissioners, who revoked his brothel license three weeks ago after he failed to pay county fees and file a renewal application on time.

Over the past year, Nye County lawmakers have battled with Hof over building code violations and illegal signs. The Nye County Liquor and Licensing Board voted 3-2 on Aug. 7 to revoke Hof’s license after he failed to file his license renewal paperwork before a 30-day deadline.

Three days later, Hof filed a lawsuit against the county and Commissioners Dan Schinhofen and Butch Borasky — who are named in other lawsuits brought by Hof — claiming violations of Hof’s constitutional and civil rights, harm to his reputation, “embarrassment, humiliation, stress and mental anguish.”

Hof’s lawsuit claimed Schinhofen and Borasky should have recused themselves from the Aug. 7 vote to revoke his license because of their involvement in other Hof lawsuits.

The Love Ranch can reopen at 8 a.m. Tuesday.

The judge sided with Hof on Monday and ordered Nye County to reinstate his brothel license until the court case is fully resolved. The judge also ordered Schinhofen and Borasky to recuse themselves from future votes involving Hof.

Hof, the GOP nominee for Assembly District 36, did not respond to requests for comment Monday. He had argued the renewal forms were not sent to him in time and that the decision to take away his license was politically motivated.

Nye County spokesman Arnold Knightly said the fight is not over.

“Today’s ruling, the judge made clear, does not prevent the county from continuing with oversight of Dennis Hof’s business or taking any action on any current or further violations,” Knightly said. “The county will continue to enforce its county codes regarding these privileged licenses.”

Knightly noted that Monday’s decision only allows the Love Ranch to operate while the judge hears the full case. The decision was “not a ruling on the entirety of the lawsuit,” Knightly said.

Commissioner Lorinda Wichman, who chairs the liquor and licensing board, was the only lawmaker to testify in court Monday. Despite her claims that Hof continually flouted county rules, she said Monday that she “believes in our legal system” following the decision.

Schinhofen — one of the two commissioners directly named in the lawsuit — did not get to testify Monday.

“Mr. Hof tweeted out and his lawyers demanded I be there because they wanted to question me,” Schinhofen said Monday afternoon. “I was never called by his attorneys or allowed to respond to the allegations made against me. I could delineate all the violations Mr. Hof has made against our code.”

Schinhofen holds out hope that Hof will be held accountable as the court case continues.

“There will be a full court date where all the truth will come out,” he said.

Contact Ramona Giwargis at rgiwargis@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4538. Follow @RamonaGiwargis on Twitter.