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SoGo Live begins litigation battle with Belle Casino
By Kelly Caulk
The Daily Reveille
June 17, 2006

Even after reports of a scheduled closing on May 20, SoGo Live has yet to play its final notes.

"The landlord said they had terminated our lease, but it is currently in litigation," said Abe Kinney, owner of SoGo Live. "They didn't like the demographic we were bringing in."

Drew Gunning, a manager at SoGo Live, said the casino has yet to pay the amount of money allotted to SoGo Live should its lease be terminated.

"There's a specific number in the lease that the casino would have to pay in order to make us leave," Gunning said. "They haven't paid us, and they can't buy us out until we get the money."

According to a June 9 Press Release issued by SoGo Live, on June 8, Live Music Establishment, LLC or SoGo Live, filed an answer to rule to show cause for possession and an exception of improper use of summary proceedings, no cause of action, prematurity and improper notice in the lawsuit filed by Jazz Enterprises, Inc. Jazz enterprises, Inc. is affiliated with Wimar Tahoe, Columbia-Sussex, the Belle of Baton Rouge Casino, who filed the lawsuit earlier last week in the 19th JDC in East Baton Rouge Parish.

"Basically they are making a lot of accusations," Kinney said. "They are trying to muscle us out by offering us substantially less than what we are owed and even calling the radio to have our ads pulled. We aren't going to take it lying down."

Stephen Babcock, SoGo Live's attorney in this case, said the court date is set for this Friday.

"Anything could happen Friday," Babcock said. "Win, lose or draw, they will not be closing Friday morning. I have been instructed to seek an appeal, which could take at least six months."

While Kinney said he is not sure how long SoGo Live will remain open, he has begun to look for a new location for the bar. Kinney said he has not found a new site for SoGo Live, but the majority of the employees are remaining on staff until SoGo Live is officially shut down.

"We are all kind of playing it by ear," said Keri LeJeune, a bartender at SoGo Live and recent University graduate. "Pretty much we are not leaving until they physically pull us out and they lock the doors."

Gunning said he felt lucky to have a group of employees willing to stay and work while their jobs remain on the line.

"In most establishments like this, usually they close down and lock the doors without telling anyone that they are closing," Gunning said. "It's risky to tell the employees that you are closing because then they sometimes feel like they can do whatever they want want because 'What are you going to do, you can't fire me.' We chose to keep our employees in the loop of what was going on and so far have only had one girl who could not continue to show up for her shifts."

LeJeune said many people are not aware that SoGo Live is still open because of the publicized closing and the lack of publicity the bar has received for staying open.

"Most people don't know it's still open because we haven't had much advertising other than radio spots and word of mouth," LeJeune said. "We still have some nights that are still big there though."

SoGo Live has recently changed the drink prices. Everything from the bar is now $2.

"The new drink prices are stellar," LeJeune said. "It's pretty much an attempt to piss off the people who want us gone because of the demographic we draw in."

The events calendar on SoGo Live's Web site shows the month of June fully scheduled, with performances by Inferno with DJ Amadeo, as well as the Michael Foster Project.

Kim Ginn, spokeswoman for Belle Rouge Casino, who is terminating SoGo Live's lease, was unavailable for comment.