"Buck Foston" won and lost.
The Wall Street Journal has reported that a tavern owner was awarded $1.5 million in lawsuit against New Brunswick, N.J., stemming from the city's attempts to block him from opening a bar called "Buck Foston."
A federal judge found that New Brunswick violated the First Amendment constitutional right of 61-year-old Larry Blatterfein by denying him a liquor license. The jury concluded that the city intentionally delayed Blatterfein's attempt of open the bar because it objected to the name, which the Wall Street Journal described as an "off-color pun evoking the legendary rivalry between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.
The verdict was the culmination of a five-year battle. Blatterfein, described by the WSJ as an IBM Corp. systems engineer-turned tavern owner, came up with the idea of developing a sports bar complex in New Brunswick, a city just 25 miles south of New York City.
The name of the bar obviously was an attempt to attract New York Yankees fans.
The city, however, refused to process Blatterfein's application for a liquor license. In 2011, some two years after he started with his plans, filed a lawsuit in federal court in New Jersey. He alleged that the city intentionally dragged its heels on the liquor license.
Blatterfein argued that New Brunswick Mayor James Cahill, objected to the name because he thought it was "vulgar," according to the Wall Street Journal. The city's actions violated Blatterfein's First Amendment rights, he alleged.
A spokesman for Cahill acknowledged that the mayor did not like the name but maintained that Blatterfein's failure to file all the necessary paperwork led to the delay in the process, as the Wall Street Journal credited the New Jersey Star-Ledger reported.
A federal judge rejected the city's bid to have the case dismissed in September, and it went to trial. After deliberating for two days the jury found the city guilty of violating Blatterfein's First Amendment rights and awarded $1.5 million.
Lawyers for the city did not comment to the Wall Street Journal, but Cahill said, "While it would have been better to win, the verdict was not for the amount Mr. Blatterfein was seeking."
Blatterfein's lawyer told the WSJ that the parties settled out of court to prevent an appeal but did not discuss the particulars of the settlement.
Blatterfein, meanwhile, has relocated to Tampa, Fla., with plans of opening another bar, but the name won't be "Buck Foston."
"The First Amendment is sacrosanct in our country as it should be," he told the Wall Street Journal.
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