The State - News from Aug. 16, 1988

A federal appeals court left in place a $305,000 judgment against the city of Hemet and its police chief in a suit for harassment by the former owner of the Silver Fox Restaurant and Bar. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the evidence supporting the verdict was sufficient and that the city failed to object to jury instructions it opposed during the trial. Bar owner Remo Benigni sued the city in 1983, saying he was forced to sell the business at a loss because police officers constantly harassed his customers, made bar checks and cited and followed customers leaving the bar. At the time of the suit, the Silver Fox was the only bar catering to youthful customers in the largely retirement-age Riverside County city.