Judge Halts City's Sanction on Oliveira's, Suggests New Hearing

The moral of the story is, according to attorney John Keilty -- "Wake up and die just right." In fact, he added with a smile, the Three Stooges are really the foundation for the modern legal system.

All horseplay aside, the metaphor was in reference to a preliminary injunction granted by Superior Court Judge Howard Whitehead to halt action the Peabody Licensing Board took recently to roll back hours of alcohol service at Oliveira's Steak House for the next six months.

The city sanction came after another string of recent violent incidents, including a stabbing, which occurred as fights between patrons and other instances of disorderly conduct spilled outside the bar onto Walnut Street. Police say Oliveira's is the only place in the city that requires regular monitoring.

Keilty couldn't appeal the actual change in hours to the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission, but he could lodge a procedural complaint in court.

He said Whitehead agreed the board's disciplinary action on Nov. 25 was out of order because the board only requested the restaurant owners appear that night to discuss the situation -- they weren't formally notified of specific allegations or potential penalties beforehand.

Keilty also maintains there's no way to prove the violence is directly connected to anything going on inside the restaurant -- the incidents all happened outside. He said he'll just argue again on that point if he does ultimately lose the court appeal to totally reverse the board's decision.

The Salem News reports Whitehead told Keilty and a city attorney in a court hearing on the matter that the city should just "go back to square one" and advertise a new hearing that specifically states the issues. The case otherwise will take time to wend its way through court.

The Salem News reports Assistant City Solicitor Adam Buckley countered that the problems at Oliveira's weren't new to anyone involved and copies of relevant police reports were given to the owners. He said the board did take appropriate action.

Whitehead didn't take issue with the board's decision itself, according to the Salem News, and agreed that it wasn't unreasonable given the public safety concerns.

Board Chairman Minas Dakos said a date for a new hearing will be set at the board's meeting on Dec. 23 and likely occur sometime in January.

Dakos expressed some consternation at Whitehead's ruling and said the judge apparently didn't think the board was specific enough the first time.

"We're just going to do it all over again," he said.