A federal judge tossed a lawsuit Wednesday by a collection of nightclubs which complained they were unfairly targeted by the city’s crackdown on late-night alcohol sales.
In her order, District Judge Wendy Berger said the complaints by the clubs “fail to hold water” and admonished their attorneys for filing a suit full of inconsistencies.
The clubs sued Orlando after city leaders implemented a permit system for selling alcohol past midnight, which was a way to crack down on the violence that frequently engulfed Orange Avenue on Friday and Saturday nights in the wake of the pandemic.
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Large clubs were forced to pay for the extra police presence, leading several clubs to close their doors.
Berger said the fee for the police protection was reasonable and the motivations by the city did not run afoul of the Fourteenth Amendment, which guarantees equal protection for certain classes of people and entities. Berger dismissed the nightclubs’ comparisons between them and theaters – large venues that also sell alcohol, but earlier in the evening.
City of Orlando staff did not offer a reaction to the lawsuits’ dismissal Wednesday.
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