Three UW-Madison students filed a class action lawsuit against the Madison-Dane County Tavern League and 24 campus-area taverns Tuesday, which could be the final blow to the weekend drink specials bans in the city.
If the lawsuit succeeds, there are questions as to how the plaintiffs will reimburse customers, many of whom are UW-Madison students who bought drinks during the ban.
The lawsuit says Madison taverns agreed to eliminate weekend drink specials and consequently committed a felony violation of the federal and state antitrust law, which states competitors cannot agree on how they will compete.
The suit maintains customers during the drink specials ban were victims of price-fixing and, under antitrust law, are entitled to triple damages.
\If [the suit's claims are] correct, then it seems to me there's a real problem that [Madison taverns have] broken the law,"" said UW-Madison law Professor Peter Carstensen.
One objective of the plaintiffs is to return the full measure of damages to customers who bought drinks at the bars during the ban.
According to Carstensen, this poses a logistical challenge for the plaintiffs because those who bought drinks with cash have no way to prove they are eligible for repayments.
Lockhart said if the plaintiffs win the case, they will implement a claims administration process for customers to collect repayments.
""The court assists in administering or approving the plan for distribution of the proceeds of the lawsuit,"" he added.
The tavern owners involved have 45 days to respond to the lawsuit. According to lawyer James Lockhart of Lommen, Nelson, Kole and Stageberg, the law firm filing the complaint, the tavern owners have a weak defense case.
Yet, Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, who was involved in the discussion of the weekend drink specials ban, said there is no validity to the plaintiff's claims.
""This lawsuit is totally and unequivocally ludicrous,"" he said. ""This is the furthest thing from a conspiracy.""
Carstensen said if tavern owners decide to act together to form a defense case, they will give support to the plaintiff's claims that the ban violated antitrust law. He added the more the tavern owners act on their own, the sooner they will settle the case.
""Each bar is jointly and separately liable for the entire damages,"" he said.
Regardless of the decision of the lawsuit, Verveer said he thinks tavern owners might permanently abandon the drink specials ban.
""I wouldn't be surprised if this is the last straw for campus-area tavern owners and to their voluntary weekend ban, because frankly, they're pissed off,"" he said.
