MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. – The You Paid For It Team has discovered that St Louis County taxpayers shelled out $28,879 to private lawyers to fight the House of Pain Gym in court.
The gym has locations in Chesterfield and Maryland Heights.
You Paid For It obtained an invoice showing at least one of the lawyers was paid $525 an hour.
St. Louis County Councilman Tim Fitch said it’s a waste of your tax dollars since the county ended up dropping the lawsuit anyway.
The owner of House of Pain called the whole ordeal unfair. He said he’s surprised how much it cost and that he was just trying to fight for himself and all small businesses.
The House of Pain defied Dr. Sam Page’s administration’s order to stay closed during the coronavirus crisis.
The gym reopened when the state lifted its order; the county’s order was kept in place.
The county took the gym to court to force it to shut down again. The case ultimately went to federal court, where a judge ruled against the gym.
The lawsuit was eventually dropped.
House of Pain recently reopened along with all the other gyms in St. Louis County.
