It may take as a much as 90 days before the city’s lawsuit against Lafayette Gatling is heard in court.

A hearing on an injunction to give the city control of the Roanoke Rapids Theatre could come sooner, City Attorney Gilbert Chichester said following a work session this afternoon.

The request for an injunction is included in the civil suit the city filed against Gatling last month.

A judges conference and a criminal session of superior court last week made hearing the injunction impossible, Chichester said.

The seven page civil lawsuit contains four evidence exhibits which include the notice ending Gatling’s contract with the city, a letter demanding the property and past due rent back, the lease agreement with the city and the contract for Gatling and L&M Hospitality to buy the 8.822 acres of land on which the venue is located.

The city contends in the lawsuit it entered valid contracts with Gatling through the lease and agreement to buy the land. The city says it has complied with the terms of the documents and that Gatling has committed material breaches of the documents while the city has given notice they have not been corrected.

In other news related to the theater today, Finance Director MeLinda Hite told council the city has paid its bond debt of $707,421.

Council also agreed to extend the date for performance requirements within the Carolina Crossroads Music & Entertainment District as well as the theater.

Under a Rural Center Economic Development Contract the city received funds to build infrastructure. The city’s portion of the grant was guaranteed by the Roanoke Rapids Sanitary District and based on jobs created in the district.

The performance date was extended to December 31