A 2002 antitrust lawsuit against campus-area bars for fixing drink prices will be heard by the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
According to Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, the suit was filed by two UW-Madison students when more than 20 bars voluntarily agreed to place a limit on drink specials on Friday and Saturdays nights. He said Chancellor John Wiley, among others, is listed as a defendant in the case.
Verveer said most of these bars did not even need to take action, but were afraid of losing business.
""They did this because they were scared to death that they would lose their drink specials the rest of the week,"" Verveer said.
Verveer said earlier this decade, city officials pushed for the ordinance in effort to curb binge drinking around campus. He said he is opposed to the idea of city officials setting drink limits.
The case will likely drag on, according to Verveer, and it could be very costly to bars. He said nothing would be decided until 2008.
""There's no end in sight at this point,"" he said.
