Gambulous v. Harris

361 F. Supp. 390, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14532
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Oklahoma
DecidedMarch 14, 1973
DocketCiv. No. 72-709
StatusPublished

This text of 361 F. Supp. 390 (Gambulous v. Harris) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gambulous v. Harris, 361 F. Supp. 390, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14532 (W.D. Okla. 1973).

Opinion

FINDINGS OF FACT, CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND JUDGMENT

CHANDLER, District Judge.

On the 20th day of February, 1973, the above entitled cause came on to be heard on the Motions of Defendants to Dismiss and the Motions of Intervenors, Charles J. Davis and Catherine L. Nuckolls, for Preliminary Injunctions and due notice having been given to all parties; and the Court having considered all stipulations of fact entered by the parties; the affidavits of the parties; all evidence introduced; the arguments of counsel and all briefs submitted and being well and fully advised in the premises concluded that a Temporary Injunction should be granted as prayed for and so announced from the bench, and

Thereafter, and on this 14th day of March, 1973, the cause comes on for further fully noticed hearing, and the Court being further advised, upon consideration, concludes that a Permanent Injunction should be granted.

The Court finds that:

1. Essentially, all of the evidence introduced in this Court in the case of National Railroad Passenger Corporation, also known as AMTRAK, plaintiff, versus Curtis P. Harris, District Attorney, District No. 7, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma; Weldon E. Davis, Director, Oklahoma Alcoholic Beverage Control Board; and Larry Derryberry, Attorney General of the State of Oklahoma, defendants, being No. “CIV-72-636” in this Court should be and has been considered by the Court in this case.

2. Plaintiff, Byron J. Gambulous has not shown that he will suffer or has suffered sufficient irreparable harm by the enforcement or threatened enforcement of the laws of the State of Oklahoma related to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverage to warrant the injunctive relief herein sought and his complaint should accordingly be dismissed.

3. Intervenor, R. Fred Parkhill, likewise has failed to show that he has suffered or will suffer any irreparable harm by the enforcement or threatened enforcement of said laws so as to warrant the granting of the injunctive relief herein sought by him and his complaint in intervention likewise should be dismissed.

4. The intervenors, Charles J. Davis and Catherine L. Nuckolls, seek no relief of any sort in this action against the defendant, Curtis P. Harris, and said defendant should therefore be dismissed.

5. Robert S. Gee is the acting District Attorney of the Thirteenth District being comprised of Ottawa and Delaware Counties of Oklahoma and Sam Harris is the acting Assistant District Attorney of said district primarily charged with the responsibility of carrying out the duties of that office in Delaware County. Both the said Robert S. Gee and Sam Harris should be made parties to this action and service of process and complaint should be made on each.

6. The defendant, Weldon E. Davis, is the principal officer of the Oklahoma Alcoholic Beverage Control Board and is generally charged with directing its activities. The Oklahoma Alcoholic Beverage Control Board is generally charged with the enforcement of Oklahoma’s liquor laws. Pursuant to licensing procedures established by Oklahoma law, the Board has the responsibility for any regulation of all of the licensed retail package liquor stores of the State of Oklahoma. There are approximately 4,500 such licensed retail package liquor stores. This Board has only 17 agents to enforce its regulations and the applicable laws in the State of Oklahoma. From its inception, the Board has meticulously enforced the provisions of the law with reference to the sale of liquor by the licensed packaged stores but has not routinely investigated places selling liquor by the drink with [392]*392the view in mind of initiating criminal proceedings for violation of these provisions of the law. The evidence reveals that it makes its investigations of such establishments at the request of other law enforcement agencies only. Its efforts to enforce these provisions of the law have been sporadic and non-uniform throughout the state. It has made no good-faith effort to enforce this provision uniformly or otherwise but on the contrary has largely ignored it except where requested by other law enforcement agencies.

The Court finds that the Board and hence the defendants have not made an overall effort to enforce the so-called liquor by the drink provisions of the Oklahoma law and that such enforcement as has been engaged in has been sporadic, minimal and highly discriminatory.

7. The defendant, Larry Derryberry as Attorney General of the State of Oklahoma, has the statutory power to supervise and regulate law enforcement throughout the State of Oklahoma. This office has not made any meaningful effort to either enforce the provisions of the law purporting to forbid the sale of liquor by the drink on any uniform and non-discriminatory basis throughout the state and as a practical matter does not have the manpower or resources to do so on any realistic basis.

8. The evidence discloses that liquor by the drink is being sold and has been sold in lodges actually owned by the State of Oklahoma. In this connection, the evidence further discloses that such lodges or resort facilities are leased out to private persons or entities.

9. The intervenor, Charles J. Davis, is the owner of a large resort — recreational complex located in Delaware County, Oklahoma, on the shores of Grand Lake in Northeastern Oklahoma which is one of the recreational areas of the State of Oklahoma. Said intervenor has developed said complex to its present stage of completion at a cost of approximately $10,000,000.00; the further development will involve the expenditure of another $5,000,000 to $10,000,000. The complex consists of a hotel-type lodge of 104 rooms having in connection with it such facilities as three restaurants, an 18-hole golf course, swimming pool, tennis courts, boat docks and other recreational facilities. As a part of the complex, there has also been built 27 condominium type units owned and occupied by private individuals. As an adjunct to the complex, there is operated a private club which has in it a bar, which constitutes but a small portion of the overall complex and operation. This private club is operated to meet the demand of member guests for the availability of alcoholic beverages by the drink. The club is not open to the general public but is open to members of the club who pay a membership fee. Members also authorize management of the club to purchase in their name supplies of liquor and such liquor is so purchased at package liquor stores. Thereafter, each bottle is imprinted with a number corresponding to the name of a member and the member is served from that bottle only. There are probably occasions on which this procedure is departed from due to error of personnel. An effort is made by the management of the entire establishment to regulate the conduct of guests on the premises so that no undue conduct is encountered thereon by anyone.

On two occasions, this complex known as Shangri La has been raided by agents of defendant Weldon E. Davis and employees of Shangri La arrested and liquor belonging to the intervenor confiscated. On each occasion, the raids and subsequent arrests have received publicity in the media generally and have become known to the general public.

The resulting notoriety has caused damage to the general reputation of the establishment and any repetition of such raids or criminal prosecution will inevitably result in further irreparable harm for which said intervenor has no adequate remedy at law.

[393]*39310. Intervenor, Catherine L.

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361 F. Supp. 390, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14532, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gambulous-v-harris-okwd-1973.