A Buckhead nightclub has one week to accept a settlement from the city in an effort to stay open despite Atlanta police’s efforts to close the establishment.
Attorney Dewayne Martin represented Level V during a due cause hearing at the License Review Board meeting on Tuesday. The nightclub had been on Atlanta police’s radar since mid-July after a homicide — the second in 10 months — occurred at the northwest Atlanta business.
Martin said he has had settlement conversations with the city’s law department over the past few weeks. The business has until Sept. 18 to decide if they will accept the settlement.
“There are some outstanding issues that need to be addressed prior to finalizing the settlement agreement,” Martin said.
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Martin declined to comment on the issues citing attorney-client privilege but said they relate to the operation of the business. He did say the settlement would allow the business to stay open, “but there will likely be a period of suspension” and a monetary fine. The length of the suspension and the monetary fine have not been determined, Martin said.
If the business agrees to the settlement, the parties must reappear before the License Review Board at its Sept. 24 meeting. If the board approves the settlement it will go to the Mayor’s Office for final approval.
The nightclub became the target of Atlanta police after the business had two deadly shootings in 10 months.
On Oct. 5, a man was shot outside the nightclub after a fight in the parking lot. He was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital where he later died. On July 12, a man was shot at the business while two groups were fighting, the AJC previously reported. The man died at Piedmont Hospital.
Two weeks after the latest homicide, Atlanta police raided the business and discovered they were operating without a state liquor license. Investigators seized more than 442 bottles of beer and 411 bottles of liquor during the July 27 raid.
The business reopened after it obtained a temporary business license from the state.
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