WCI, Inc. v. Ohio Liquor Control Comm

In WCI, Inc. v. Ohio Liquor Control Comm., Franklin App. No. 05AP-896, 2006 Ohio 2751, at P2-3, 8, the commission suspended WCI, Inc.'s liquor license, in pertinent part, under R.C. 4301.25(A)(1) after a dancer for WCI, Inc.'s adult entertainment establishment sold cocaine to an undercover detective in February 2003, and, as a result, the dancer was subsequently convicted of trafficking in cocaine in October 2003. The trial court upheld the suspension. WCI, Inc. at P10. However, the Court reversed the suspension upon concluding that the evidence failed to establish that the dancer worked for WCI, Inc.'s adult entertainment establishment at the time of her conviction, or that she became an employee following her conviction. Id. at P28-35. The Court noted that the dancer was terminated around February 2003, and that, in March 2003, she received a criminal trespass notice denoting that she was not welcome at WCI, Inc.'s business. Id. at P28. In WCI, Inc., the Court reversed the R.C. 4301.25(A)(1) violation, even though the evidence established that the conviction leading to the violation stemmed from cocaine trafficking from an individual employed by the permit holder at the time of the trafficking.