A legal victory for the Dane County Tavern League, as the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled that campus-area bars in Madison did not violate antitrust laws by voluntarily restricting drink specials. Dane County Tavern League President Dick Lyshek is pleased with the decision: “What happened is that some law students thought that they were going to be cute, and they found a lawyer who was willing to take up a class action lawsuit against us, claiming that they had lost the “value” of cheaper drinks.” That was back in 2004 when the city of Madison was trying to reduce binge-drinking. “All the bar owners were doing was complying with what the city asked of them,” says Kendall Harrison, lawyer for the establishments. “They can't be held responsible for any alleged antitrust violations.”
The limit on drink specials is no longer in place. Lyshek says the county Tavern League incurred legal expenses of $400,000 in defending the suit, and he sees some irony in the case. “Their lawsuit has probably increased our costs of doing business,” he says. “And probable increased the prices that we charge.”
