Club sues city for liquor license denial

By Doug Stohlberg

It may not be a big surprise, but Centerfolds Cabaret has filed suit against the city of Hudson.

The local strip club filed the lawsuit Thursday in St. Croix County Circuit Court, contesting the city's denial of a liquor license at the April 5 council meeting.

City Attorney Bill Radosevich said the city will have 45 days in which to respond to the suit.

"We'll have a better idea of how we plan to respond in a couple of weeks," Radosevich said. "Obviously the city disagrees with a number of things alleged in the suit."

The case has been assigned to Judge Eric J. Lundell, who will make the eventual ruling.

The suit seeks judicial review of the city's refusal to grant a Class B liquor license. The Centerfolds attorneys contend that at the time the club applied for a liquor license, the city had no municipal ordinance prohibiting nude dance entertainment on the premises of a business licensed to sell alcohol. Since the club opened, the city has passed or is in the process of drafting ordinances in an attempt to regulate both current and/or future nude dancing.

In the suit, the club attorneys claim the city's denial of a license was unlawful. The city's action is described as "unlawful, arbitrary and capricious." The suit further contends that the city's action was a violation of the club's constitutional rights, including First and 14th Amendment rights. The city's action is described as a use of "discretionary authority to make a content-based decision to penalize the plaintiff for exercise of First Amendment rights."

The suit further claims that the strip club is "entitled to a declaratory judgment (from the courts) declaring the denial of the liquor license to be a violation of plaintiff's rights." It asks for an injunction, compelling the city to issue a Class B license.

The club does not seek any specified monetary settlement, but asks for "reasonable costs, disbursements and attorney's fees," and it asks for "additional relief as it (the court) may deem just, fair and equitable."

The club is being represented by Minneapolis attorney Randall Tigue of Randall Tigue Law Offices and New Richmond attorney Matthew Biegert of Doar, Drill & Skow.

Centerfolds Cabaret opened at 609 Second St., much to the surprise of Hudsonites, on Monday, Jan. 21. Brooklyn Park businessman Thor Gunderson purchased the property from Patricia and Ken Bjerkelund. The couple ran the business as the Sand Bar, but did not have nude dancing. Gunderson has maintained that he should be allowed to acquire the liquor license held by the Sand Bar.

The lawsuit filed by Centerfolds' attorneys cites a case in the town of Trenton where similar attempts to withhold a liquor license were ruled unconstitutional by the courts.