A decade-long lawsuit brought against Sandy Springs by two adult entertainment clubs and an adult bookstore was decided in the city’s favor, Sandy Springs announced Wednesday.

The suit, in U.S. District Court, challenged a city code that required adult entertainment to locate only within specifically zoned areas of the county, and to prohibit the sale, possession and consumption of alcohol.

The city said Wednesday that the ruling, by U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May, confirmed the city was following a legal path in creating its rules.

“We are obviously pleased with the ruling,” Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul said in a statement.

The city’s statement said the ruling found the city’s actions would help reduce secondary effects, such as prostitution.

The suit was brought by the adult entertainment clubs Flashers and Mardi Gras and Inserection, an adult bookstore.

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Fulton DA Fani Willis (center) with Nathan J. Wade (right), the special prosecutor she hired to manage the Trump case and had a romantic relationship with, at a news conference announcing charges against President-elect Donald Trump and others in Atlanta, Aug. 14, 2023. Georgia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, upheld an appeals court's decision to disqualify Willis from the election interference case against Trump and his allies. (Kenny Holston/New York Times)

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