Suspension of Your NJ Liquor License
Your liquor license can be suspended by either your local issuing authority (town council or ABC Board) or the Director of the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control. If you are subject to an order of suspension, you and your license will be prohibited from engaging in any alcoholic beverage activity in or upon the licensed premises. This means that you may not operate as a BYOB, you may not receive delivery of alcoholic beverages and you may not sell, serve or permit the consumption of alcoholic beverages on the premises. If you elect to shut down your premises, you will further be restricted in how you “announce closing.” Specifically, you may not advertise that the premises are closed for any reason other than that the license has been suspended by the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Storage of alcoholic beverages may also continue on the licensed premises during the period of suspension.
If you or your liquor license are subject to a Notice of Charges from the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control or your local municipal authority, call the ABC liquor license attorneys at 732-858-5857. Former Deputy Attorney General, William C. Fay, IV, will represent you in any aspect of ABC law.
Can The Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control Suspend My Liquor License?
Under N.J.A.C. 13:2-19.6, “any license or permit may be suspended, cancelled or revoked for proper cause, notwithstanding that such cause arose prior to a subsequent transfer or extension of the license, or arose during a prior license term of a license held by the licensee or his predecessor in interest or arose during the term of a prior permit held by the permittee.”
When Does the Suspension Begin?
When the issuing authority imposes an order suspending or revoking a license, a “start date” must be included. The suspension date must give the licensee an opportunity to file an appeal of such an order prior to commencement. Licensees must be wary of buying licenses that are pending charges as, disciplinary proceedings may not be barred or abated by the expiration, transfer, surrender, renewal, or extension of the license. This means that if you by a license and receive an order of suspension, you will not have a valid defense to remove the proposed order. You are subject to the prior licensees actions.
Can I Avoid A Suspension Of My Liquor License?
Generally, yes. The New Jersey Administrative Code permits licensees obtain a stay of their suspension pending appeal. Under N.J.A.C. 13:2-17.8, the filing of an appeal from a suspension of a license by a municipal issuing authority shall act as an automatic stay of such suspension, unless the Director shall otherwise order. All other appeals shall not stay the effect of the action appealed unless order by the Director or the Administrative Law Judge.
Division of ABC Lawyers in NJ
For an immediate consultation with an ABC Liquor Law Attorney, call 732-858-5857.
