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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-3856 Civil HOLLY PIKE TRADING COMPANY, INC., tla MIDWAY INN, APPELLANT IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA V. COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, LIQUOR CONTROL BOARD, APPELLEE 05-3856 CIVIL TERM IN RE: APPEAL BY LIQUOR LICENSEE FROM REFUSAL TO RENEW LICENSE MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER OF COURT Bayley, J., September 22, 2005:-- Holly Pike Trading Company, Inc., filed an appeal from the refusal of the Pennsylvania Liquor Board to renew its hotel liquor license for premises at 1582 Holly Pike, South Middletown Township, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, for the period beginning February 1,2005, and ending January 31,2007. Pursuant to 47 Pa.C.S. S 4-464, the appeal was heard de novo on September 7, 2005. In appeals under Section 4-464, a court may make its own findings and reach its own conclusions based on those findings even when the evidence it hears is substantially the same as the evidence presented to the Board. Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board v. Richard E. Craft American Legion Home Corp., 718 A.2d 276 (Pa. 1998); Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board v. Bartosh, 730 A.2d 1029 (Pa. Commw. 1999). The Licensee was cited and adjudicated of permitting lewd entertainment, and on three separate occasions serving alcohol to visibly intoxicated persons. We find, as did the Board, that taking into consideration the seriousness of the offenses, the steps taken by Licensee are not enough to outweigh the citation history incurred. However, while the Board found that a conditional renewal of the license would not sufficiently 05-3856 CIVIL TERM guarantee an end to the operational problems exhibited by Licensee, we conclude otherwise. The hotel license, while transferable for its current location, is not transferable to another location. The hotel at the premises has sixteen rooms, and a high occupancy rate. Licensee seeks to sell its property which is now listed with a realtor. The value of the license will be lost if it is not renewed, which is a harsh result. We will allow the Licensee an opportunity to avoid it. To guarantee an end to the operational problems exhibited by Licensee, we will conditionally reverse the Board, and direct the granting of the renewal application subject to the specific restriction that within twenty days of this date the Licensee enters into a written agreement with the Board that the renewed license shall be transferred to a bona fide third party who meets Board requirements, and that the Licensee permanently cease selling alcoholic beverages as permitted by any renewal license within five days of the renewal. ORDER OF COURT day of September, 2005, IT IS ORDERED that the AND NOW, this refusal of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board to renew the hotel liquor license for 1582 Holly Pike, South Middletown Township, Pennsylvania, for the period beginning February 1, 2005 and ending January 31, 2007, is conditionally reversed, in that the Board shall grant a renewal application subject to the specific restriction that within twenty days of the date of this order, the Licensee has entered into a written agreement with the Board that the license when renewed shall thereafter be transferred to a bona fide third party who meets Board requirements, and that the Licensee permanently cease selling alcoholic beverages within five days of the renewal. If the written -2- 05-3856 CIVIL TERM agreement is not entered into as required, the decision of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board is affirmed effective twenty-one days after the date of this order. By the Court, Edgar B. Bayley, J. Barbara A. Darkes, Esquire For Appellant Christopher L. Herrington, Esquire For Appellee :sal -3- HOLLY PIKE TRADING COMPANY, INC., tla MIDWAY INN, APPELLANT IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA V. COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, LIQUOR CONTROL BOARD, APPELLEE 05-3856 CIVIL TERM IN RE: APPEAL BY LIQUOR LICENSEE FROM REFUSAL TO RENEW LICENSE ORDER OF COURT AND NOW, this day of September, 2005, IT IS ORDERED that the refusal of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board to renew the hotel liquor license for 1582 Holly Pike, South Middletown Township, Pennsylvania, for the period beginning February 1, 2005 and ending January 31, 2007, is conditionally reversed, in that the Board shall grant a renewal application subject to the specific restriction that within twenty days of the date of this order, the Licensee has entered into a written agreement with the Board that the license when renewed shall thereafter be transferred to a bona fide third party who meets Board requirements, and that the Licensee permanently cease selling alcoholic beverages within five days of the renewal. If the written agreement is not entered into as required, the decision of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board is affirmed effective twenty-one days after the date of this order. By the Court, Edgar B. Bayley, J. Barbara A. Darkes, Esquire For Appellant 05-3856 CIVIL TERM Christopher L. Herrington, Esquire For Appellee :sal -2-