Summit bar owner wants to drop lawsuit against Iowa City

Summit Restaurant and Bar owner Mike Porter wants to drop his federal lawsuit against the city of Iowa City over a liquor license policy the city recently changed.

Porter and the Summit on Tuesday filed for a dismissal without prejudice – meaning the case could be refilled – in U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. The judge had not ruled on the request as of Wednesday morning, but Porter attorney Steven Havercamp of Davenport said he expects the judge to approve it.

Porter filed the lawsuit a year ago arguing as unconstitutional a city policy that denied a liquor license to any establishment with underage patrons ticketed for possessing alcohol at a rate of greater than 1.0 per officer visit. The citation is commonly called a PAULA.

The Summit, 10 S. Clinton St., was one of the bars that ran afoul of the policy. An administrative law judge and the state's Alcoholic Beverages Division later agreed the policy was inconsistent with state law, and the City Council changed it in August.

Also, the council last spring approved, and voters later upheld, the 21-and-older bar law that essentially made the PAULA policy moot because it's now illegal for people younger than 21 to be in an Iowa City bar after 10 p.m.

Havercamp said they decided to drop the case after the city instituted changes. “The Summit is going to put its focus on its business operations as opposed to the lawsuit,” he said.

The Summit filed for bankruptcy in September, as have two other downtown establishments owned by Porter.

Earlier this month, citing those financial problems, Iowa City Police Chief Sam Hargadine recommended the council deny the liquor license renewal application from the Summit. The council deferred that decision because of the bankruptcy proceedings.