Legal Documents of Maryville

The Maryville Beer Board is hereby empowered and directed, whenever from facts and evidence presented to it at a hearing hereinafter provided for it is of opinion that such action is justified in the public interest, to revoke or suspend any permit or license issued pursuant to this chapter to any person, firm, co-partnership, corporation, joint stock company, syndicate, association or group operating as a unit, who:

1. Makes any material misrepresentation or false statement in the application upon which the permit is based, or fails to keep and maintain as true any promise or fact set forth in said application;
2. Violates any of the provisions of this chapter;
3. Is convicted of any violation of the laws of the United States or of the State of Tennessee or of the ordinances of any city prohibiting the manufacture, sale, possession, storage or transportation of alcoholic beverages as defined in this title; or
4. Knowingly permits or allows, or negligently fails to prevent, the violation of any of the aforesaid laws or ordinances against said intoxicating liquors upon any premises occupied or owned by, or under the control of, the licensee.

Upon any complaint being made to the said board by one (1) or more reputable citizens that any of the acts above mentioned in this section has been committed or any other provision of this chapter has been or is being violated by a person holding and/or exercising a permit issued pursuant to this chapter, or when it shall appear that the premises of any permit holder are being maintained and operated in such manner as to be detrimental to the public health, safety or morals, or when said board has knowledge of any such act or violation, the holder of said permit shall be notified in writing by the secretary of the board and afforded an opportunity for a hearing before the board. Said notice shall be mailed, at least five (5) days before the hearing, to the address shown upon the application for a permit, shall state the nature of the complaint or violation, and shall direct the holder of said permit to appear before the board at a time and place specified and show cause, if any he has, why his permit should not be revoked or suspended. The hearing shall be broad in character, and evidence may be heard upon any facts or circumstances pertinent to or applicable to the violation charged. The reputation or character of the place and of the holder of the permit complained of shall be material and competent evidence for the consideration of the board at such hearing.

Whenever complaint is made charging that false statements or misrepresentations have been made in any application for a permit under this chapter, the burden of proof shall be upon the holder of the permit to establish the truth of the statement charged to be false; provided, that no formal complaint shall be necessary or required whenever the falsity of such statement or representation, or the commission of any of the acts above-mentioned in this section, or the violation of any other provision of this chapter, may be made to appear by the records of any court of competent jurisdiction; and in such case such records or duly certified copies thereof shall be conclusive evidence of the falsity or misrepresentation or of the commission of said act or of said violation.

The beer board may further fine a permit holder for any violation or may, in its discretion, offer the permit holder the alternative of paying a civil penalty as provided by state law.

Provided, further, that no person, firm, co-partnership, corporation, joint stock company, syndicate, association, or other group operating as a unit, whose permit and license are revoked by said board shall be eligible to make application for or be granted another permit under this chapter for a period of ten (10) years from the date said revocation becomes final.

Provided, further, that when a permit and license are revoked by said board pursuant to this chapter no new permit or license shall be issued for the same premises until the expiration of one (1) year from the date said revocation becomes final and effective. The beer board, in its discretion, may determine that the issuance of a license or permit before the expiration of one (1) year from the date of the revocation becomes final is appropriate, if the individual applying for such issuance is not the original holder of the license or any family member who could inherit from such individual under the statutes of intestate succession.

The secretary shall notify the Blount County Beer Committee of the revocation of any permit under this chapter. (1999 Code, § 8-216)