PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) – Two adult entertainment venues are in the midst of lawsuits with the City of Panama City.

The lawsuit comes after the City sent both establishments a letter telling them to cease operations.

The City’s reasoning stems from an ordinance forbidding sexually oriented businesses from operating within 250 feet of any tourism corridor. The ordinance, however, included a grandfather clause; both venues were in operation at the time of its passing and were able to remain open as long as ownership didn’t change.

Since the ordinance passed, both have.

Attorneys representing the venues have filed motions asking the court for injunctions. They claim the majority shareholders have changed, but the owning entity, or corporation, has not.

In June of last year, the City updated its definition of change in ownership, adding “any transfer of stock in a corporation owning such business, even when the name of the entity remains the same.”

That was six months prior to Bambi’s most recent ownership change.

City commissioners will schedule an executive session to discuss legal proceedings at Tuesday’s meeting.

Neither the City nor the attorneys responded to our requests.