Dead Goat staying open as 3 entities lock horns

Exotic dancers can keep on bumping and grinding at the Dead Goat Saloon until the legal wrangling is resolved among the striptease nightspot, the LDS Church and Salt Lake City.

The city agreed Wednesday not to try to suspend or revoke the saloon's license until the dispute ends.

Third District Judge Denise Lindberg also ruled that Property Reserve Inc., the real estate arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, does not have legal standing to contest the city Board of Adjustment's issuance of a sexually oriented business license to the nightclub in the first place.

Lindberg said Property Reserve had not been party to the original objections to the business license that were aired before the Board of Adjustment, which ultimately concluded that the saloon could have the license.

Property Reserve can, however, proceed with its allegations that the Dead Goat (renamed the Crazy Goat as a strip club) is both a public and private nuisance.

But Lindberg said another party in the case, the Souvenir Stop, did take part in the early Board of Adjustment proceedings, and it can go ahead in court with its objections to the city issuing the license to the Goat. The Souvenir Stop also can continue with its claims the striptease club is a public and private nuisance.

The judge left open questions of legal standing in contesting whether a city-enacted moratorium (or as she phrased it, temporary regulatory ordinance) on sexually oriented business in the downtown could be applied retroactively to the Goat.

Daniel Darger, co-owner and attorney for the saloon, contends the club went through proper channels and got city approvals for the license before the moratorium was adopted — and he insists it would be wrong to apply a newly enacted ordinance retroactively.

Lindberg indicated informally that she tended to agree with that viewpoint but allowed all parties to provide legal briefs on that issue by June 23 before making a final ruling. She also instructed attorneys for all sides to meet and prepare a tentative schedule for the lawsuit.

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E-mail: lindat@desnews.com