WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAU) – A Marathon County judge will decide Friday exactly how he will review an appeal of Wausau’s decision to not renew a bar’s liquor license this summer.
I.C. Willy’s owners Tom and Susie Nowell are asking for a de novo review, which would essentially grant a new trial. But the city says Judge Greg Grau can only perform a certiorari review, which will determine whether the City Council was arbitrary, capricious or discriminatory when it voted to non-renew the bar’s liquor license June 30th.
The Nowells are also asking for a quick resolution to the case.
“Without a liquor license, the plaintiffs are suffering irreparable harm,” their attorney Ryan Lister wrote in a brief. “It is apparent…that a person who has been denied renewal of his liquor license and his ability to earn an income be entitled to a prompt resolution of the dispute.”
At issue when the appeal is finally heard is whether the city violated the Nowells’ rights to due process and equal protection. The Nowells also claim that the city did not let them present evidence about other bars with more violations and that the city was allowed to raise allegations outside the scope of the non-renewal hearing.
