The owner of downtown Salt Lake City's Crazy Goat Saloon wants to see the city held in contempt of court and sanctioned, alleging it continued to tackle licensing issues ruled off limits by a state judge.
Daniel Darger filed his motion in 3rd District Court on Monday, asking for the contempt finding and for Judge Denise Lindberg to temporarily prohibit the city and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the defendant and plaintiff, respectively, in a suit over the club's sexually oriented business license, from revoking the club's license or seeking administrative action on the license until the court can hold a hearing on the matter.
The Goat's motion and supporting memorandum come amid legal confusion over the standing of the saloon's license to allow exotic dancing at the club, which recently changed its name from the Dead Goat Saloon to correspond to its change from being primarily a live music club to being a club for adult entertainment.
The court filings do not specify what kind of sanctions Darger is seeking against the city, and he could not be reached for comment Tuesday evening.
Worried that "the Goat can now expect the city's police officers to show up any minute to enforce (city attorney Ed Rutan's opinion that the license has been revoked effective immediately) and issue citations (or) make arrests," Darger's memorandum claims that the city should have known a basement stage would likely be used for exotic dancers when it issued the license in the first place.
At issue is the stage, in an underground west room near the club's restrooms, that the city says is too close to West Temple, considered a gateway corridor and therefore protected by city ordinance from proximity to sexually oriented businesses.
The city has argued that it never expected the stage to be used for exotic dancing and that its realization that strippers would take the stage constitutes a "change of circumstance" and therefore does not apply to Lindberg's order that the city only adjudicate facts and issues separate from issues raised in court.
But Darger's memorandum calls that argument "absurd," saying the city admits the Goat never suggested that its underground stage would not be used for exotic dancing or other "(sexually oriented business) activities." Because of the order, Darger argues, the city, for now, must stop trying to enforce the recommendation of city hearing examiner John Cawley that the sexually oriented business license should be revoked.
The sexually oriented business license was issued because an upstairs stage is far enough away from West Temple not to violate the ordinance.
Included in the Goat's filings are two Deseret Morning News articles that show Rutan originally believed Darger could not appeal his license revocation to Mayor Rocky Anderson but later changed his position, saying he was mistaken but that he continues to disagree with Darger over whether the license should be in place pending the mayor's review.
Contacted for comment Tuesday afternoon, Rutan said the city had just received copies of Darger's filings and that it planned to file a response with the court. Beyond that, he said he would not comment on Darger's claims or motions.
E-mail: dsmeath@desnews.com