Gary E. Vaughn Jr., the owner of Bodies in Motion, a traveling dance company, said Friday his attempt to hold shows in a downtown Hollidaysburg restaurant is over.

Vaughan, who resides in Portage, has been engaged in a 15-month federal court battle with Hollidaysburg authorities over their issuance of a cease and desist order that banned adult cabaret, that can include nude dancing and other sexually oriented activity, from the downtown area.

The Borough’s Zoning Board contended that the sexually oriented shows held periodically at D’Ottavio’s Italian House/Gran Sasso on Allegheny Street, violated the zoning ordinance, which restricts sexually oriented businesses to District I-2, an undeveloped wooded area along Scotch Valley Road that is reserved for General Industry.

The zoning ordinance was initially challenged in the Blair County Court of Common Pleas by Paolo D’Ottavio, the restaurant owner, but it was upheld in an opinion issued by Senior Judge Pamela Reust of Centre County.

In January 2025, Vaughn, serving as his own attorney, filed a civil rights complaint in the U.S. District Court in Johnstown.

The defendants in the lawsuit included Hollidaysburg Borough, the borough manager, the mayor and council.

The zoning ordinance, the complaint stated, “discriminates against my sexually oriented business by not permitting its operation, while allowing, without restriction, similarly situated businesses engaged in similar freedoms of expression.”

He indicated while his business was not allowed downtown, the ordinance included a list of exemptions such as a modeling class in the same area.

He charged that the borough’s zoning rules violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution.

It stated, “The Supreme Court has ruled that nude performance dancing is a form of expression that when restricted requires First Amendment review.”

In March, the Chief Judge of the Western District of Pennsylvania, Cathy Bissoon, dismissed Vaughn’s federal complaint, concluding he “lacked standing” to file the suit.

Vaughn did not live in the borough and did not own property there, the Bissoon opinion pointed out.

On April 6, Vaughn sought to amend the rejected complaint, by asking permission from Bissoon to add Paolo D’Ottavio, or D’Ottavio’s Italian House, as a plaintiff.

“Courts typically allow amendments to ensure cases are decided on the merits rather than technicalities and should focus on whether the amendment aids in presenting the merits, avoids undue prejudice to the opposing party, and is not motivated by bad faith, undue delay, or futility,” Vaughn argued.

Mr. D’Ottavio, Vaughn stated, lives in the borough and owns property there, as he sought to amend his lawsuit.

He asked his complaint be decided on its merits.

Bissoon has now rejected Vaughn’s request to amend.

She stated that he did not present any new evidence, a need to correct her original order, or a “clear error of law of fact or to prevent manifest injustice.”

She stated Vaughn failed to show “extraordinary circumstances resulting in unexpected hardship” in his request to add D’Ottavio, or the restaurant, as a plaintiff.

But, she also pointed out that even if another plaintiff were added, Vaughn, who is representing himself (pro se), would not be able to represent others in court.

Vaughn said Friday he can’t afford to continue the fight, noting the filing of an appeal is costly.

“I’m going to concede. It’s over,” he said.

He said if he could receive a hearing on the merits (the constitutional issues) of the case, he could win.

But, he stated, Bissoon’s decision does not affect him directly.

He said his dancers still appear at restaurants in Altoona and Claysburg.