Dekalb Event Ctr., Inc. v. City of Chamblee, Georgia

• Decision Date: 14 October 2021
• Docket Number: 20-10659
• Parties: DEKALB EVENT CENTER, INC., d.b.a. Mansion Elan, Plaintiff, v. CITY OF CHAMBLEE, GEORGIA, a municipal corporation, Defendant-Appellee. WBY, INC., d.b.a. Follies, Plaintiff-Appellant,
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit

DEKALB EVENT CENTER, INC., d.b.a. Mansion Elan, Plaintiff,

WBY, INC., d.b.a. Follies, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
CITY OF CHAMBLEE, GEORGIA, a municipal corporation, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 20-10659

United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit

October 14, 2021

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia D.C. Docket No. 1:18-cv-02739-SDG

Before Jordan, Jill Pryor, and Tjoflat, Circuit Judges.

OPINION

Jordan, Circuit Judge:

WBY, Inc., dba Follies, is an adult entertainment nightclub located within the City of Chamblee in Georgia. When Follies obtained a liquor license for calendar year 2018 from the City, it was allowed to sell alcohol until 3:00 a.m. In February of 2018, the City enacted Ordinance 754, which amended § 6-152(a) of its Alcohol Code to require establishments selling liquor for consumption on the premises to stop alcohol sales by 2:00 a.m. Monday through Saturday and by 11:59 p.m. on Sunday. The City began enforcing Ordinance 754 in June of 2018, and that is when Follies started complying with it.

Believing that Ordinance 754-among other things-violated its vested property rights for the remainder of 2018 under the Georgia Constitution, Follies sued the City in federal court. The district court ultimately granted summary judgment in favor of the City, holding in relevant part that the 2018 liquor license did not provide Follies with a vested property right under Georgia law in the hours of permissible alcohol sales. See WBY, Inc. v. City of Chamblee, 434 F.Supp.3d 1298, 1305-08 (N.D.Ga. 2020).

Following oral argument, we affirm. Although Follies had a vested right in its 2018 liquor license, that vested right did not extend to the hours in which alcohol could be sold.^[1]

I

Until 2014, Follies was located in an unincorporated portion of DeKalb County, Georgia. In 2014, the City of Chamblee annexed certain territory from DeKalb County, including the sites where Follies and other nightclubs operated. At the time of the annexation, DeKalb County and the City had different regulations concerning the sale of alcohol for on-premises consumption.

Although DeKalb County permitted the sale of liquor until 3:55 a.m., with businesses allowed to stay open until 4:55 a.m., the City only allowed alcohol to be sold until 2:00 a.m., with businesses allowed to remain open until 3:00 a.m. After the annexation, the City temporarily permitted the businesses in the newly-annexed territory to continue operating as they did in DeKalb County. Unlike DeKalb County, the City prohibited alcohol consumption with nude dancing. But it also temporarily permitted Follies to continue operating under DeKalb County's terms.

A

The City regulates the sale or service of alcoholic beverages under §§ 6-1 through 6-320 of its Alcohol Code. All establishments serving alcoholic beverages must obtain a liquor license under the Code. See City of Chamblee Alcohol Code § 6-41. Liquor licenses last for one calendar year and must be renewed annually. See id. at § 6-50. Once issued, a liquor license can be suspended or revoked by the City only for due cause. See id. at § 6-51.

Prior to 2018, § 6-152 of the Code allowed the sale of alcohol for consumption on the premises until 3:00 a.m. (the following day) on Monday through Friday, until 2:55 a.m. (the following day) on Saturday, and until 3:00 a.m. (the following day) on Sunday. All licensed establishments not open 24 hours as a restaurant had to close by 3:30 a.m. each day.

As noted, the City revised § 6-152...