The legal teams for Hickory and Conover prepare to face off against Fun Arcade LLC during a temporary restraining hearing on the skill game arcades in the area in this 2018 file photo. A bid by the attorneys to have the case thrown out last week was rejected, according to the attorney for the gaming company.
A Catawba County judge rejected efforts by the leaders in Hickory and Conover to have a lawsuit from a gaming company thrown out.
Jonathan Trapp, an attorney for gaming company Fun Arcade, said Superior Court Judge Nathaniel Poovey refused a motion for summary judgment from the cities last week.
Trapp said Poovey also pushed back the date for trial — originally set for April 26 — because of two pending cases in the N.C. Supreme Court that could affect the local case.
It is not clear when one or both of those cases may be decided. Trapp said it could be later this spring or early this summer.
The legal battle against gaming businesses in Hickory and Conover has been going on since 2018.
The cities have argued the games offered by the businesses violate state gaming law, a position the businesses themselves reject.
When asked to comment on the recent developments in the case, Hickory Communications Specialist Sarah Killian said, “Our position remains the same.”
A court order is in place protecting certain types of gaming systems from enforcement under the current laws.
Kevin Griffin is the City of
Hickory reporter at the
Hickory Daily Record.
