Rocky Mountain Rogues, Inc. v. Town of Alpine

375 F. App'x 887
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedApril 19, 2010
Docket08-8087
StatusUnpublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 375 F. App'x 887 (Rocky Mountain Rogues, Inc. v. Town of Alpine) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rocky Mountain Rogues, Inc. v. Town of Alpine, 375 F. App'x 887 (10th Cir. 2010).

Opinion

ORDER AND JUDGMENT *

TIMOTHY M. TYMKOVICH, Circuit Judge.

Rocky Mountain Rogues, Inc., doing business as Bull Moose Saloon, and its principals (together, the Bull Moose), brought a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 suit against the Town of Alpine and a number of its officials involved in a dispute over its liquor license and the issuance of a building permit to expand its business. The Bull Moose claimed the Alpine Defendants violated its rights by (1) depriving it of due process in revoking a previously granted conditional building permit, (2) interfering with its pursuit of property during liquor license renewal proceedings, (3) subjecting it to unequal treatment, (4) retaliating against it for exercising its freedom of *889 expression because the saloon offered exotic entertainment, and (5) conspiring against it generally in the course of the other constitutional violations. The Bull Moose also claimed, under § 1983, that the Wyoming State Fire Marshal deprived it of substantive due process by closing the saloon for fire code violations.

The Alpine Defendants and Fire Marshal moved for summary judgment and the district court granted their motions. The Bull Moose appeals those rulings.

We AFFIRM on substantially the same grounds as the district court ruled. The Bull Moose received the due process it was entitled to during the building permit and licensing dispute and none of the other claims raise disputed material facts to survive summary judgment.

I. Background

The Bull Moose is a restaurant and bar located in Alpine, Wyoming. Broadly speaking, the Bull Moose alleges that its presentation of exotic entertainment led the Defendants to behave antagonistically towards the Bull Moose. More specifically, the Bull Moose’s claims against the Apiñe Defendants relate to the revocation of a permit the Bull Moose needed to build a motel on its premises and the delayed renewal of its liquor license, and its claim against Fire Marshal Narva concerns an order he issued closing the Bull Moose for fire safety reasons. The facts relevant to this appeal thus may be categorized as pertaining to (1) the building permit for the motel, (2) the liquor license’s renewal, and (3) the State Fire Marshal’s cease and desist order.

A. Building Permit

In April 2004, the Bull Moose applied for a permit to build a motel on its premises. The Apiñe Town Council approved the Bull Moose’s application on May 18, 2004, subject to several conditions: (1) the project receive the State Fire Marshal’s approval; (2) its electrical plans obtain State approval; (3) the project gain the approval of Apine’s setback inspector; (4) the project receive the approval of Alpine’s building inspector after obtaining the State Fire Marshal’s approval; and (5) the Bull Moose pay Apiñe the appropriate water connection fee. The Council approved the application conditionally so the permitting process would not interfere with the arrangements the Bull Moose had entered into to finance the building of the motel.

The building permit certificate did not refer to the conditions on its face, but they were stated at the meeting at which the Council approved the Bull Moose’s application and in a letter, dated May 19, 2004, from Apine’s mayor to the Bull Moose. Apine’s Zoning Ordinance states that “the approval of a[ ] permit may include conditions, provided the conditions are transferred in writing to the applicant with the signed permit.” Aple. SuppApp. at 3.

On May 28, 2004, a day after receiving approval from the State Fire Marshal, the Bull Moose began construction on the motel. Several weeks later at the June 15, 2004 Council meeting, the setback inspector told the Council that he had not yet approved the Bull Moose’s plans for the motel and that he had concerns about parking at the site. At that meeting, one Council member also noted the Council had not yet received electrical plans for the motel or confirmation of the State Fire Marshal’s approval. Because of these deficiencies, the Council revoked the Bull Moose’s building permit at the June 15 meeting. The Bull Moose was informed of the permit’s revocation the following day. Subsequently, the Bull Moose paid the required water connection fee.

On July 6, 2004, the Council again considered the Bull Moose’s building permit. It concluded there were still issues con *890 cerning parking at the site and refused to reinstate the permit. At the September 7, 2004 Council meeting, after the Bull Moose agreed to eliminate a certain number of parking spaces, the Council renewed the permit. The Bull Moose was issued a new building permit certificate on September 9, 2004.

B. Liquor License

On November 2, 2004, in response to citizens’ concerns about exotic dance shows held at the Bull Moose, the Council put off renewing the Bull Moose’s liquor license so that further review could be conducted. Following additional review, the Council, on November 30, 2004, renewed the license.

Based on a series of alleged license violations, the Council authorized the filing of a complaint in state court seeking to revoke the Bull Moose’s liquor license in July 2005. That suit was eventually dismissed.

In November 2005, essentially for the same reasons that led it to defer renewal in 2004, the Council again delayed renewing the Bull Moose’s liquor license. The Council ultimately renewed the license, subject to the Bull Moose’s compliance with the State Fire Marshal’s requirements, restrictions on minors, reasonable law enforcement requests for access, and Wyoming provisions governing decency and liquor license maintenance. At one of the Council meetings where renewal of the Bull Moose’s license was discussed, the Bull Moose agreed to limitations on what its exotic dancers could wear during performances.

While renewal of the Bull Moose’s liquor license was delayed in 2004 and 2005, the license never lapsed and was never revoked. The Bull Moose was never without a valid liquor license.

C. Cease and Desist Order

The Bull Moose received approval of its plans for an addition to its main building from the State Fire Marshal’s Office on April 16, 2003. According to those plans, sprinklers were only to be installed in the addition.

On March 12, 2004, a building plan reviewer for the State Fire Marshal’s Office informed the Bull Moose that sprinklers needed to be installed in both the addition and the main building. In August 2004, a deputy fire marshal authorized occupation of the first floor of the main building, but also told the Bull Moose that sprinklers still needed to be installed in the main building. Thereafter, an assistant fire marshal wrote a letter to the Bull Moose, dated April 28, 2005, stating that it had to install sprinklers in the main building by May 25, 2005.

The Bull Moose negotiated an extension for installing sprinklers with the State Fire Marshal’s Office. Later, however, the Bull Moose determined that it could not afford to install sprinklers in the main building.

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Bluebook (online)
375 F. App'x 887, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rocky-mountain-rogues-inc-v-town-of-alpine-ca10-2010.