Limelight owners sue city Limelight owners sue city (March 05, 2004)

Trial will be set on March 15

By Grace Rauh

Nightclub owners Kareem and Andrew Nahas are taking the city to court next month over allegations that Mountain View officials imposed burdensome restrictions on the Limelight that ultimately forced its closure.

City officials say they are "surprised" by the lawsuit and contend city employees spent more than 100 hours to help the Nahas brothers' Castro Street nightclub stay in business.

"We don't understand the lawsuit. The lawsuit talks about facts that just aren't based on reality," said City Attorney Michael Martello.

The Nahas brothers and Mountain View officials will appear in a San Jose district court on March 15, at which time a trial date is expected to be set. Jim McManis, an attorney for the Nahas brothers, estimates the trial will take place sometime next year.

"Basically our clients are two young men, who were encouraged to open a business in Mountain View with various assurances and promises by the city," McManis said. "They did that; they invested a lot of money; they signed a long-term lease. ... And then the city basically changed the rules on them."

McManis would not say how much money his clients are seeking. "But it is going to be a big number. I can tell you that," he said.

The city said it will not agree to settle the case out of court. "There is no legal basis for paying them money for violating the law," Martello said.

The Limelight came under fire in mid-2002 when downtown residents complained to the city that partygoers were drinking in their cars and tossing bottles and cans on the ground. One neighbor filmed Limelight patrons urinating in his yard and along the street and vomiting.

In response to residents' complaints, the city examined the Limelight's permit and discovered that it was supposed to be operating as a restaurant and generating at least 50 percent of its revenues from food sales.

Additionally, the nightclub was put under investigation by the Department of Alcohol Beverage Control for operating without a proper liquor license, Martello said. City Zoning Administrator Whitney McNair reviewed the Limelight's permit and amended it to allow the Nahas brothers to operate as a nightclub instead of a restaurant, as long as they obtained the proper liquor license. McNair has also been named in the lawsuit.

The Limelight's new guidelines required them to only admit patrons aged 21 and older, suspend in-and-out privileges and limit business hours to Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, according to court documents. The club owners never sought the new liquor license required by their new status and couldn't make ends meet when they weren't open seven nights a week, Martello said.

The Nahas brothers could not be reached for comment on this story. The law firm representing them does not allow its clients to speak to the press while an action is pending, said Marwa Elzankaly, an attorney for the club owners.

The Nahas brothers asked the Mountain View City Council to amend the restrictions, but it did not. They then tried to sell the club, but were told by a prospective buyer that with the current restrictions in place, it was impossible to operate the club, according to court documents.

The brothers purchased the Limelight in December 2001 and say they were under the impression that they could continue to operate the nightclub under the same permit with the same restrictions that governed the previous owners, according to court documents. The club had been open seven days a week, admitted patrons aged 18 and over and offered occasional youth nights for 14- to 17-year-olds. According to Martello, the Nahas brothers always knew their permit required them to operate as a restaurant.

E-mail Grace Rauh at grauh@mv-voice.com

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