Several downtown Orlando bars have filed a federal lawsuit against the city, accusing local officials of forcing a small number of venues to bear the burden of paying for overnight policing services in violation of their unconstitutional rights
Three plaintiff companies that own seven bars in the downtown area – 6064 NOA LLC, The Beacham and Celine Orlando LLC – filed the lawsuit on Sept. 13 in the Middle District of Florida.
“This case involves unconstitutional governmental overreach and takings, due-process and equal protection claims under the Fifth and 14th Amendments by the city in assessing separate additional tax burdens on certain holders of its municipal land-use permits known as After-Midnight Alcohol Sales Land Use Permits,” the lawsuit states.
Defendants in the litigation are the city of Orlando and Police Chief Eric Smith.
During the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath, crime in the city’s designated Downtown Entertainment Area (DEA) spiked, and a number of shootings were reported, according to the lawsuit.
“The lack of visitors and police presence within the DEA during the pandemic changed the dynamic of the DEA,” the complaint says. “While the majority of visitors were still there to have fun, more troublesome visitors were also more visible and present. Some individuals recently appeared to come to the DEA looking for trouble.”
In turn, the city sought additional resources to respond to the reports of crime incidents and surveys concluding that more than 80% of people in the downtown area do not feel safe there. Officials transferred the cost of policing the DEA and other sections of Orlando on weekends to 33 businesses that serve alcohol past midnight, according to the lawsuit.
“Plaintiffs seek a declaration invalidating the (city) ordinance as unconstitutional, an injunction preventing its further enforcement, damages equal to all amounts paid to the city pursuant to the ordinance, attorney fees, litigation costs and any other relief that may be appropriate,” the complaint states.
The city did not respond to a request for comment about the lawsuit, but one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs, Robert Peck of the Center for Constitutional Litigation in Washington, D.C., stressed that constitutional issues are clearly in play in the legal dispute.
“As indicated in the complaint filed, the U.S. Supreme Court, in June, held that the Fifth Amendment’s takings clause prohibits government from imposing unconstitutional conditions in granting permits and required, where justified, the conditions be tailored with a degree of specificity to accomplish a legitimate goal,” Peck said in an email to the Florida Record. “We argue that Orlando has not complied with that requirement.”
The Center for Constitutional Litigation was invited into the legal dispute as co-counsel by the Tampa-based Varnell & Warwick law firm, which filed the lawsuit.
The city ordinance in question mandates bars and nightclubs that want to to sell alcohol between midnight and 2 a.m. to purchase an After-Midnight Alcohol Sales Permit. The annual permit cost for each of the seven plaintiffs ranges from $51,480 to $145,080, according to the lawsuit, but other entertainment venues in the downtown area don’t pay for such permits.
The plaintiffs also argue that the city went ahead with the new permit system even though no study was conducted to determine if there was a direct link between the alcohol sales at the venues and the increase in crime incidents.
“The city did not evaluate why the visitors were in the DEA after midnight, what events or activities brought them to the DEA or whether alcohol may have been consumed by those responsible for criminal or violent activity,” the complaint states.