Judge in Idaho orders hold on liquor licenses
Businessman challenges waiting list rules
TWIN FALLS, Idaho – A district court judge is prohibiting the state from issuing liquor licenses in five cities in central and south-central Idaho pending resolution of a lawsuit contesting waiting lists for the licenses.
Fifth District Court Judge G. Richard Bevan earlier this month ordered the Idaho State Police’s Bureau of Alcohol Beverage Control not to issue any alcohol beverage licenses in Twin Falls, Sun Valley, Ketchum, Hailey and Bellevue, the Times-News reported Friday.
Daniel Fuchs, manager of Dick’s Pharmacy in Twin Falls, contends in his lawsuit filed, earlier this year, that he was denied due process when the Bureau of Alcohol Beverage Control enforced a 2-year-old rule barring people from holding more than one spot on the waiting lists for liquor licenses.
The bureau lobbied for the rule in July 2006 as more would-be investors turned to selling and leasing liquor licenses as a long-term way to make money.
Idaho limits liquor licenses to one per 1,500 residents in a city, and some owners of about 1,000 existing state licenses have paid up to six figures for the right to sell liquor by the drink.
State beverage control officers wanted the rule, which state lawmakers approved in 2007, to deter repeat applicants and prevent unlawful transfer of liquor licenses, according to court records state police filed.
Idaho police who regulate liquor licenses removed 13 names, including Fuchs’, earlier this year. Fuchs was reimbursed $5,175 after his name was deleted 16 times from city waiting lists.
State police let Fuchs keep his highest-ranking spots on the waiting lists under the rule, which states: “An applicant shall only hold one position at a time on each incorporated city priority list. An applicant must be able to demonstrate to the director the ability to place an awarded license into actual use.”
Fuchs contends he should have been given a hearing first. He also argues that state police acted outside their administrative authority by enforcing a rule that came after he had already populated the lists.
Cheryl E. Meade, a deputy attorney general for the Idaho State Police, has asked for a dismissal of Fuchs’ lawsuit, contending he has not exhausted all administrative remedies. A hearing is set for Dec. 14.