BUCKFIELD — The owner of Captain Bly’s Tavern has filed a $500,000 lawsuit against the new property owner, charging that the lease with his previous landlord remains in force through December 2018.

Mark McAlister operated the tavern at 371 Turner St. for several years, renting the building from DSB LLC, whose principals are Denny and Steven Bly. 

In June, Lee Johnson purchased the property from DSB LLC, according to a warranty deed filed with the Oxford County Registry of Deeds. Since then, he locked the doors and prepared to open his business, Buck-it Grill & Pub.

On Dec. 6, he asked the Board of Selectmen to issue a special amusement permit and state liquor license, but the board voted unanimously to table the request until the lawsuit is settled.

At that meeting, McAlister’s attorney, Jeff Wilson, served Johnson with the lawsuit, which claims:

• Johnson illegally evicted McAlister on or around Nov. 1, when Johnson locked the doors and posted no-trespassing signs throughout the property;

• Due to that, McAlister has not been able to operate his restaurant and had to lay off his employees;

• McAlister lost contracts for music and entertainment, all food, alcohol and beverages on site and customers; and

• McAlister owns roughly $40,000 in “equipment, appliances, memorabilia, decorations and other restaurant goods” he cannot access.

“When DSB sold this to Mr. Johnson, that lease goes with the sale,” McAlister’s attorney, Wilson told selectmen last week. “When you sell property and you have a tenant, that lease does not fall by the wayside … whether it’s residential or commercial. You can’t just kick out a tenant because you bought the property. … Mr. Johnson locked the doors on (McAlister). That is an illegal eviction in Maine.”

Town Manager Cindy Dunn provided selectmen with some background on the sale of the property.

“When I got the deed from the registry, there was an assumption Mr. Johnson acquired everything: the land, the building and the business. No one told me otherwise,” she said. “After that I learned that he did not and that is when I started learning about this lease. … There was a question on whether or not this lease existed.”

On Dec. 6, attorney Wilson emailed a copy of the lease, which runs from December 2015 through December 2018, to Dunn, after she requested it from McAlister at least three times, according to her correspondence with selectmen.

“This should be settled in court, not here,” Johnson said.

Wilson agreed.

The lawsuit, filed Dec. 6 in Oxford County Unified Court in South Paris, seeks $500,000 “plus reasonable attorney’s fees and costs to compensate (McAlister) “for lost profits, actual, compensatory, consequential, punitive and other reasonable and appropriate damages.”

Board of Selectmen Chairman Warren Wright wanted to table the issue until attorneys settled the matter.

“That’s not right,” Johnson said. “(McAlister) got to tell everyone I am a moron and I kicked him out.”

He said the board should grant him a liquor license so he can put two of McAlister’s former employees back to work.

The board disagreed.

Johnson said Tuesday that he is conferring with his attorney on the matter.

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