Visions Nightclub to sue Madison alder for libel, slander

Site staff by Site Contributor

A Madison nightclub’s owner is taking the first step toward suing the city alder who started a petition to have the club’s liquor license revoked.

The nightclub’s attorney, Jeff Scott Olson, sent a statutory notice of claim to Madison Alder David Ahrens and City Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl Thursday. This is the first step in filing a lawsuit against a city official.

“We have worked too hard over the decades to build our reputation as a clean and law-abiding business to let one reckless public official tear it down by making false statements claiming we tolerate violence, drugs and prostitution,” owner Tom Reichenberger said in the news release attached to the court documents.

He added in the release that the nightclub has never had a drug or prostitution arrest. If filed, the lawsuit will claim libel and slander in the case against Ahrens.

Four people have been arrested in connection with a shooting that happened at the nightclub in December in which multiple people were injured. Since the shooting, Ahrens wrote a blog post asking residents to sign a petition to revoke Visions Nightclub’s liquor license.

“The crimes regularly occurring in and around the establishment are so serious and frequent that they cannot be ignored,” Ahrens wrote in the post. “Since 2017, there have been over 100 police calls to Visions.”

News 3 spoke with Ahrens Thursday who said he has not yet formally received the notice in the mail.

“The claim seems groundless and an attempt to silence me,” Ahrens said. “If and when it is properly served, I will turn it over to the City Attorney for review.”

Ahrens said the petition would still be presented to the Alcohol License Review Commission on Jan. 17.

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