Des Moines bar owner compares city to bullies, sues Des Moines for $12.5 million

A pair of Des Moines bar owners say the city is unfairly targeting their East Village business, comparing some city staff to schoolyard bullies determined to see their club closed.

Brothers George and Cornelius Qualley, owners of Lime Lounge, filed lawsuits in Polk County District Court on June 3, seeking to block the city's attempt to close their club. They are asking for at least $12.5 million in damages.

They are asking a judge to nullify Des Moines’ ordinance that requires bars to obtain a conditional-use permit to secure a liquor license. Bars and nightclubs in the city that don't serve food are required to secure a permit before serving alcohol. 

The Qualleys called it "illegal spot zoning" in the lawsuit.

A second lawsuit filed by the brothers alleges malicious prosecution, defamation, libel and conspiracy on the part of the city, its employees and City Councilman Joe Gatto. specifically. It also alleges that the city tries to close down bars that play hip-hop music.  

The Qualleys, who are also attorneys, say city officials defamed the bar in media reports and hurt the business financially.  

“The city isn’t used to dealing with people who have the ability to resist the constant onslaught when they decided they wanted to put someone out of business,” George Qualley said in an interview with the Register.

The lawsuits are the latest in an ongoing dispute between the city and the bar's owners over noise complaints and violent incidents. 

In a 34-page, 19-count lawsuit, Lime Lounge owners say Des Moines police spokesman Sgt. Paul Parizek defamed the bar while speaking to the media, and that city inspector SuAnn Donovan maliciously prosecuted the bar multiple times when she scrutinized its conditional-use permit before the Des Moines Zoning Board of Adjustment.

The filings come almost two months after the Des Moines City Council was expected to reconsider the status of the club’s liquor license. That action was first delayed and then removed from consideration in April. The Qualleys argued their license was valid for the full year after the council approved it in December.

Lime Lounge, at 435 E. Grand Ave., remains open.

Last month, about three weeks after the council was set to take up Lime Lounge's liquor license, the city asked Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division to revoke the license, arguing that the bar no longer has the conditional-use permit required to be in business.

Tyler Ackerson, a spokesman for the alcoholic beverages division, said the city's complaint was sent to the Department of Inspections and Appeals. The administrative law judge has not yet set a hearing for the case. 

Did shootings begin with bar disputes?

The defamation lawsuit centers on two shootings that took place just days apart in January near Lime Lounge. 

Parizek told reporters that both shootings followed disputes inside the bar.  

“I don’t believe that’s accurate in either case,” George Qualley said.

Officers arrested 28-year-old Mario Duprie Hutchinson in one of the shootings. He was charged with attempted murder after allegedly shooting the victim in the face, leaving him critically injured. Hutchinson's trial is scheduled for July 29. 

In the lawsuit, the Qualleys say Parizek’s statements that the shootings happened at Lime Lounge were untrue. When Des Moines news organizations reported it, the lawsuit claims, business suffered.

“At this point, we’re trending significantly lower than we were last year,” George Qualley said. He said the bar would have gone out of business if the brothers did not own the building that houses Lime Lounge. 

The dispute between the city and Lime Lounge's owners dates back to 2015, when the bar was brought before the Zoning Board of Adjustment over a noise complaint. 

The bar’s conditional-use permit was revoked in 2016 after noise violations. The state court of appeals affirmed the city's decision in February, and the Iowa Supreme Court declined to take up the case.

“The only thing I can comment on is that the case appears to be — at least, in part — an attempt to relitigate Lime Lounge’s previous case that they lost in District Court and before the Court of Appeals, and the city will vigorously defend the lawsuit,” City Attorney Jeff Lester said in an email.

Lawsuit claims hip-hop bias 

George Qualley said this is not the first time the city has targeted a bar. “It’s how they do business, and it’s wrong,” he said.

The Lime Lounge lawsuit alleges Des Moines police have tried to close down businesses that play hip-hop music.

Sgt. Joseph Fentress, a Des Moines police spokesman, said the department doesn’t have any policies for any music genre.

Parizek declined to comment because he is named in the lawsuit. The lawsuit also names Police Chief Dana Wingert and Sgt. Kelly Stuhr.

Gatto also declined to comment.

Lime Lounge has slightly less than 1,700 square feet of space and has an indoor capacity of approximately 100 people. The bar features a rotating roster of DJs who play a mix of hip-hop and dance music. 

Austin Cannon covers the Des Moines metro area for the Register. He can be reached at awcannon@registermedia.com or 515-284-8398.