YOUNGSTOWN Year's up; bar's case is moot

The bar has been closed for more than a year.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A long-standing legal battle between the city and a Market Street bar has ended.
The city sued owners of Smokey Joe's bar in 2000, seeking to have it declared a public nuisance and shut down. The matter has yet to go to trial in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
In a court entry filed this week, both sides agreed to dismiss the suit because the bar has been closed for more than a year.
Under Ohio law, a year is the longest that the city could have closed Smokey Joe's had it prevailed in court, said Atty. John B. Juhasz, who represents Smokey Joe's.
Juhasz said he's not sure whether the owners intend to reopen the bar.
City officials took action to shut down the bar after hearing complaints from nearby business owners and residents about underage sales, property damage, violence and crowds from the bar that spill into the street at closing time.
The bar was closed for a short time in 2000 but reopened under a new name. That business subsequently closed and the bar reopened as Smokey Joe's again, Juhasz said.
In November 2001, a common pleas court magistrate ruled that there was enough evidence to prove the bar was a public nuisance, but the matter had not gone before a judge for its final hearing.
Juhasz said the primary reason for the delay was that the city accused the bar's first attorney, Stephen Garea, of having a conflict of interest. The case was put on hold until that issue was resolved.
City Police Chief Robert Bush, who was the city law director when the lawsuit began, could not be reached to comment.
bjackson@vindy.com