FERRIDAY — The alderman-elect who filed a lawsuit against the Town of Ferriday did so because the statute of limitations to be able to file the suit was running out.

District B Alderman-elect Elijah “Steppers” Banks said he filed a lawsuit seeking damages plus interest from the town for the closure of his business Club Steppers in October 2001 because the lawsuit he filed against the town at that time was never completed.

“That issue existed before I was elected an alderman,” Banks said.

If no action is taken on a lawsuit after a certain amount of time, it is involuntarily dismissed.

But Ferriday Town Attorney Derrick Carson said the town had no reason to pursue the lawsuit.

“The suit is not the town’s initiative. It is not on the town to take any action to further (Banks’) claim,” Carson said. “Don’t file a suit (against the town) and assume I am going to push the suit to trial.”

Mayor-elect Glen McGlothin, who was mayor at the time of the closure, said he revoked the business’ liquor license after receiving a number of complaints about excessive loitering and fights at the nightclub, located at 211 E.E. Wallace Blvd.

Banks disagreed that it was a nuisance.

“I always ran a well-code of conduct club,” Banks said. “You come in and act like citizens and you get treated like citizens.”

The decision to revoke the license was appealed to the Ferriday Board of Aldermen, which did not reinstate the license.

The 2001 lawsuit, which requested the courts to bar the city from revoking the license, followed the normal legal course until late 2002. After that, however, it stalled.

The next action taken was in 2004 when attorney Anna Ferguson, who was attorney at the time the suit was filed, signed the case over to Carson, who became town attorney under Mayor Gene Allen’s administration that year.

No other action was pursued until June 3, when Banks filed the new suit.

In 2005, Banks opened a new club, Steppers II, located at 812 First St., but that doesn’t affect his claim to damages, he said.

“You’re always going to accumulate damage,” Banks said.

The lawsuit against the city will not affect his ability to lead as an alderman, Banks said.

“I can perform my district business according to bringing my people forward,” he said. “(The town) took something from me seven years back, but that doesn’t stop me from applying my leadership forward. This doesn’t affect my responsibility or my leadership ability.”