Columbus, OH – On Monday, The Buckeye Institute filed a new lawsuit on behalf of Eric Flannery, the owner of The Big Board, a neighborhood bar and grill located in our nation’s capital, charging that members of the 6C Advisory Neighborhood Commission conspired to protest the renewal of The Big Board’s liquor license to punish Mr. Flannery because he spoke out against D.C.’s pandemic-era shutdown orders. Flannery v. Eckenwiler was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

“Mr. Flannery has faced more than a year of government harassment for doing nothing more than speaking out against D.C.’s unlawful pandemic-era shutdown orders,” said David C. Tryon, director of litigation at The Buckeye Institute and one of the attorneys representing Mr. Flannery. “But as one of the defendants posted on social media, ‘[a]ctions have consequences,’ and this case gives the court the opportunity to make it clear that governmental bodies cannot retaliate against private citizens for exercising their First Amendment rights.” 

After successfully challenging D.C.’s government-ordered shutdown of his restaurant—Mr.  Flannery thought the harassment he faced was behind him. He was wrong. In October 2022, when Mr. Flannery requested a renewal of The Big Board’s liquor license, the Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC 6C) members began to organize a baseless protest. As Mr. Flannery recalls, one of the ANC 6C members saying at an ANC meeting that the city should revoke The Big Board’s license because “I mean just some of the things he’s said publicly, we should go ahead and protest the license.” 

But protesting the license renewal in retaliation for Mr. Flannery’s opposition to the district’s pandemic-era mandates violates Mr. Flannery’s First Amendment rights. So, they filed a protest falsely claiming his restaurant negatively impacted property values, peace, order, and quiet, including the noise and litter provisions in D.C. law, and that the restaurant harmed residential parking needs and vehicular and pedestrian safety. 

After months of opportunity—and harassment of Mr. Flannery—the ANC 6C members provided no support to back up their claims and even refused to fully participate in the mediation required by the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA).  After an ABRA investigation found nothing to support the claims in the ANC 6C protest, the ANC members withdrew the complaint, assuming they would not be held accountable for their actions. 

The six defendants in the case are residents of the District of Columbia and made up the 6C Advisory Neighborhood Commission membership during the time in question. The defendants are:

• Mark Eckenwiler, current chairman of the ANC 6C;
• Karen Wirt;
• Christine Healey;
• Drew Courtney, current chairman of the ANC 6C’s Alcoholic Beverage Licensing Committee;
• Joel Kelty; and
• Jay Adelstein.

Buckeye’s co-counsel in Flannery v. Eckenwiler are Patrick Strawbridge and David L. Rosenthal at Consovoy McCarthy PLLC. The Buckeye Institute also represents Mr. Flannery in Flannery v. D.C. Department of Health, challenging the D.C. Council’s and Mayor Muriel Bowser’s unconstitutional emergency acts and orders. 

Stay up-to-date on Flannery v. Eckenwiler at BuckeyeInstitute.org/FlanneryvEckenwiler.

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