Iowa Supreme Court affirms Des Moines had right to revoke East Village club liquor license
Iowa's highest court says the city of Des Moines was within its right to revoke a now-shuttered East Village nightclub's liquor license.
Owners of the former Lime Lounge, brothers George and Cornelius Qualley, filed lawsuits in Polk County District Court in 2019, seeking to block the city's attempt to close their club. The Qualleys, who sought at least $12.5 million in damages, asked a judge to nullify Des Moines' ordinance that requires bars to obtain a conditional use permit to secure a liquor license. Bars and nightclubs in the city that don't serve food are required to secure a permit before serving alcohol.
The Qualleys, who were fighting the ordinance that was used to revoke the permit, said the ordinance was a violation of "equal protection" and created "illegal spot zoning," and compared some city staff to schoolyard bullies determined to see their club closed in the original lawsuit, which worked its way up to the Iowa Supreme Court.
Last week, the Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeals' and the District Court's judgments dismissing the bar's challenge that's part of a years-long dispute between the city and the bar's owners over noise complaints and violent incidents at or near the nightclub. In the opinion filed March 22, Justice Thomas Waterman wrote each of the bar's claims failed and that the city's ordinance is a "proper exercise of the city's zoning authority expressly permitted" under the law.
"We are disappointed but unfortunately not surprised by the Court’s unwillingness to follow its own clear precedent and instead issue a weak-kneed opinion that only serves to uphold increasing government overreach to the detriment of all Iowans," the bar owners wrote in an emailed statement to the Des Moines Register.
While there has been a significant change in zoning laws since the litigation, the legal action taken speaks to a larger problem in Des Moines, the owners said.
"Rather (than) support its business community and take steps to build a thriving economy, City leaders choose to engage in multi-year legal battles that cost businesses and tax payers alike enormous amounts of time and money while some of the City’s most valuable commercial real estate in the downtown and Ingersoll avenue corridor stands vacant."
In an emailed statement to the Register, Des Moines City Manager Scott Sanders said the city is "pleased" with the Supreme Court's opinion to reject the "Lime Lounge’s contention that the City’s zoning ordinances could not be applied to liquor establishments and also finding the City properly applied the law in its dealings" with the bar.
Lime Lounge closes, owners file lawsuits
The nightclub that brought an eclectic range of DJs and cocktails to Des Moines first opened on Ingersoll Avenue in 2009 and later moved to the East Village at 435 East Grand Ave. in 2011, doubling the size of its space. The 1,700-square-foot bar was known for its intimate dance floor, patio space and list of specialty cocktails.
The nightclub closed its doors in late 2019 after two shootings that occurred outside within a two-week period, which police alleged were preceded by disputes inside the Lime Lounge.
Following the shootings, Des Moines city officials and police claimed the bar was a troublesome spot, dating back several years. The Qualley brothers alleged the police and city officials unfairly scrutinized and condemned the bar, resulting in financial losses.
The brothers filed two lawsuits: One regarding the ordinance and the second alleging libel, defamation and conspiracy on the part of the city and its employees. The second lawsuit was transferred to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit where justices sided with the District Court that the brothers' arguments should be dismissed.
Latest lawsuit over Nightingale Cocktail shows tension is far from over
Despite the Supreme Court's latest opinion, the tension between the city and the Qualleys has brewed over into the brothers' more recent venture, Nightingale Cocktail, a bar now housed in the same spot as the former Lime Lounge.
The brothers filed a lawsuit in May against the city citing defamation and civil conspiracy.
The latest lawsuit claims the city wrote false statements about them and their bar in a letter sent to the media, Des Moines City Council members and the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division when they applied for a liquor license. The liquor license ultimately was approved, but the Qualleys claim in their lawsuit the city manager continued to disparage them.
In an email, Sanders said the city is evaluating its next steps in "ongoing litigation and will proceed accordingly.”
The case currently is in Polk County District Court.
Virginia Barreda is the Des Moines city government reporter for the Register. She can be reached at vbarreda@dmreg.com. Follow her on Twitter at @vbarreda2.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa Supreme Court rejects Lime Lounge lawsuit against Des Moines
