The owners of Coyote Jack's Saloon are suing the Chattanooga Beer and Wrecker Board over the October decision to revoke the controversial nightclub's beer permit after the third fatal shooting at the downtown bar in just three years.
A motion filed in Chancery Court early this week by Bankable Holdings LLC, the company that owns Coyote Jack's, and co-owner Tammie Taylor asks the court to reverse the beer board's October decision to permanently revoke its beer permit. The permit was unanimously revoked by the board roughly two weeks after the third fatal shooting at or outside of the club took the life of 19-year-old Brandon Rogers.
Ronald Berke, uncle of Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke, co-owned the club with Taylor at the time of the shooting and is listed as an attorney on the appeal. While Berke has not responded to several phone calls since the October shooting, fellow attorney Russell King, who represents the bar and at one point Ronald Berke, told the Times Free Press during the beer board hearing that Berke was looking to surrender all ownership to Taylor.
Assistant City Attorney Keith Reisman said the city was served Tuesday morning, but the appeal was filed Monday, the last day possible under city code.
The appeal comes after the owners moved hearings on the permanent revocation of their state liquor license and the first hearing on the city's case to declare Coyote Jack's a public nuisance and permanently close the business into next year.
Neither King nor Berke responded to multiple phone calls Tuesday seeking comment.
Contact Sarah Grace Taylor at 423-757-6416 or staylor@timesfreepress.com. Follow her on Twitter at @_sarahgtaylor.