Lafayette council delays license hearings
LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) - In light of two pending federal lawsuits, the Lafayette City-Parish Council has voted to defer hearing the appeals of seven downtown bars facing liquor license suspensions.
Last month, city-parish government issued one-year liquor license suspensions to the bars for nonpayment of monthly security fees that help cover the cost of a downtown police detail on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.
The Advocate reports owners of Karma, The Rabbit Hole, Shakers, Guamas and Nite Town filed one lawsuit, while the owners of B.E.D. and Bootleggers filed a separate but similar lawsuit.
Both lawsuits allege the city's Special Law Enforcement Levy is an unconstitutionally imposed tax that unfairly singles out one group of businesses in one small area of the city.
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