SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - The state’s Attorney General is asking a federal court judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the liquor industry.
In 2011 Utah's liquor laws were changed to make sure customers don't over indulge.
So-called happy hour was a bar's way of bringing in extra business. But not anymore.
“It slowed us down,” said Murray Moffat who owns Club DJ’s in Taylorsville. “There’s just too many people that go to the convenience stores and pick up a cold pack to go home."
Moffat and other tavern owners along with Utah's Hospitality Association sued the governor.
They claim the state is conspiring and is in violation of the Sherman Act a federal law that regulates business.
But in court documents filed Friday by Utah’s Attorney General, the state wants the lawsuit "dismissed."
And it claims there's no conspiracy.
“A conspiracy does not exist simply because a government entity issues restraints that citizens must follow,” the legal brief states.
But at Club DJ's, they find it ironic the state doesn't have to follow the law for special pricing.
Ad ran that ran during the holidays has caught the attention of the tavern owners. The ad shows special prices for alcohol at the DABC state-run liquor stores.
"Here's the DABC running their specials on liquor advertising their sales but yet we cannot do that,” said Cindy Middleton who is a manager at Club DJ’s.
Most tavern owners say these latest laws are just another way the state is trying to shutdown their business.
“I feel that way all the time,” said Moffat.“I feel like they're really trying to micro-manage us as a business.”
