A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit challenging Florida’s law barring adults under 21 from working in strip clubs, after the plaintiffs withdrew the case, citing a recent ruling by the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld a similar municipal ordinance.

The case, filed in July 2024 by Café Risque in Alachua County, Sinsations in Jacksonville, adult retail store Exotic Fantasies, and 19-year-old performer Serenity Bushey, had contested the constitutionality of the state’s age restriction on First Amendment grounds. The law, signed by Governor Ron DeSantis last year, prohibits individuals under 21 from working in adult entertainment venues, a move supporters claim targets human trafficking concerns.

U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor closed the case following a May 7 notice filed by the plaintiffs’ attorneys, who pointed to the Eleventh Circuit’s April 23 decision affirming Jacksonville’s local ordinance, which similarly restricts adult entertainment employment to those 21 and older.

The federal appellate court held that the age restriction was a content-neutral regulation intended to reduce secondary effects such as trafficking and did not infringe on constitutional speech rights. The plaintiffs in that case, the filing noted, do not plan to appeal to the Supreme Court, making the decision likely final and binding within the circuit.

In their dismissal notice, attorneys acknowledged that the state statute closely mirrors the Jacksonville ordinance. “Both laws prohibit the employment of persons under the age of 21 in exotic dance establishments,” the filing stated, effectively conceding that the legal precedent set by the Eleventh Circuit undermined their challenge.

The original lawsuit had argued that the legislature enacted the law without sufficient evidence linking adult entertainment to trafficking and failed to explore less restrictive alternatives. The plaintiffs also claimed the measure broadly infringed on constitutionally protected expression.

Though the May 7 court document left open the possibility that Exotic Fantasies, which operates as a retail store without on-premises entertainment, could challenge the law separately, Wednesday’s dismissal covered all plaintiffs and was filed without prejudice, leaving the door open for future legal action.

The age restriction law remains in effect across Florida, and with recent judicial backing, appears legally solid, for now.