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Synopsis 1 Renata Luzny University of Utah

Mary Sara Wells Ph.D. University of Utah

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Case: Christopher Jay Brown and Ruth Anne Brown, Plaintiffs Appellants, v. City of Lake Geneva and Audrey Millette, Defendants Apellees. No. 89 -3610, September 14, 1990, Argued December 13, 1990, Decided Case Summary Ground for legal case: Mr. and Ms. Brown, owners of a Bed and Breakfast, sued the city and a city council member, appellees, for dismissal of their liquor license as a violation of the law and their constitutional rights. Compendium: The Browns, owners of the Bed and Breakfast, applied for a liquor license for their restaurant. They then tried to obtain a liquor license under the living museum statute. The application was swiftly dismissed by city council member, an owner of a competing Bed and Breakfast, due to insufficient qualification under the statute. The Browns sought reassessment. The court found that the appellants premises did not classify as a property for which such a liquor license could be awarded. Outcome: The court affirmed the judgment of appellees because the Browns premises did not satisfy the conditions to be granted a liquor license under the living museum statute.
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Facts: Christopher and Ruth Brown own a large residence in Lake Geneva. The couple converted their property into a Bed and Breakfast with a restaurant, possessing a beer and wine license. The Browns added a luxurious ambiance to this one hundred year old, renovated building by supplying it with generous art works. They started to call their mansion a living museum. Under these circumstances, the Browns were convinced that they would qualify to obtain a liquor license from the city of Lake Geneva under the living museum statute. Their liquor license application was dismissed by a vote of a few city council members, including Audrey Milliette, the owner of a competing Bed and Breakfast. The Browns understood the city of Lake Genevas decision as an unconstitutional violation of the law and their rights. Therefore they filed an action to federal district court where the Lake Geneva decision was affirmed. Notes: According to Lake Genevas ordinance, the Browns Bed and Breakfast does not fulfill the conditions to be defined as a museum. The type of license the Browns applied for are available only to real museums and their services. The Browns implied that their right of liberty and property interest, which is protected under the fourteenth amendment, was violated. Action: The four elements of negligence should be met in order to sue and to put a case in motion. Duty, the first element, was violated according to the appellant by not following their legal obligations to satisfy somebody elses right. The Browns felt that their right was violated

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Synopsis1,4 Running Head: Synopsis 1 by the dismissal of their liquor license application. The second element of negligent action is breach, which was achieved by not following the moral and legal obligations that come with being a city council member. Resulting from the next element, proximate cause, would be the prevention of a properly running fine dining restaurant for the Browns. The last element, injury, which literally means the actual loss or damage to the plaintiff, is that the appellant is unable to bring more revenue to their small business. Opinion: Was the liberty interest violated in this case? The courts thorough legislative procedure confirmed that no unconstitutional violations were imposed against the Browns. The plaintiffs however, were obviously convinced otherwise. By reading through the case a couple of times, I acquired a deeper understanding about it. According to this information I assumed that Mr. and Ms. Brown were interested in bringing more revenue to their small business. Since they provided the premises with a fair amount of art, they assumed that the property automatically gained the museum statute. The Browns understood that there is a city of Lake Geneva Ordinance under which the liquor licenses could be issued to the museums in the area and their services. Without sufficient knowledge of the exact determination of Lake Genevas Ordinance about the difference between a restaurant and a museum, the Browns assumed that they have the right to attain a liquor license under these circumstances. However the liquor license application was dismissed by the city council. Consequently, since one member of the city council was the owner of a competing Bed and Breakfast business, the Browns automatically assumed that it was a personal interest, including an abuse of power which was used to decline their application. In this cases description it was

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Synopsis1,5 Running Head: Synopsis 1 not made clear if Audrey Milliette, the defendant, was actually the owner of liquor license as well as owner of the competing business. Even though some bias could have been involved, the motives were irrelevant to the rational decision about the license dismissal. Application for my future Future Job: In my near future, I plan to be the sole proprietor of a Bed and Breakfast. In order to smoothly run a small business such as B and B, a few licenses are required to be attained. In the case of running a fine dining restaurant on the premises, a liquor license is a must. When looking for the right place for a Bed and Breakfast, the easiest way would be to purchase an already existing similar business. This may prevent future failures in obtaining the licenses necessary. An already existing business might be also more convenient due to an existing clientele. In the case of converting a residential building into a business one, many obstacles have to be overcome. Existing similar businesses in the area are needed to be carefully considered as potential competition. Equally as important is the understanding that the new business will be a competition for existing ones which could lead to many disputes in the future. Next, the greatest part of the researching stage before making any decisions would be very well versed in the local citys Orders which make or break any attempts keep your future business afloat. The hospitality Business will always have some sort of competition around, by knowing the business legal position and its rights we could easily prevent and solve many disputes. As a future hospitality business manager, Ive learned quite a few important lessons from this case. Know your rights and research everything thoroughly before you make any decision.
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