Ex-Paradise Owner Sues

The former owner of Boston’s Paradise Rock Club, who sold the business after city officials suspended the club’s liquor license in the late 1990s, is suing an area law firm for legal malpractice stemming from that case.

In the complaint, filed mid-April in U.S. District Court, Seth A. Greenberg accuses DiMento & Sullivan of mishandling four lawsuits he filed against the city, which were dismissed by the court. As a result, Greenberg claims he had no recourse against the city’s alleged unfair targeting of the club for liquor and entertainment violations.

The suit alleges the mishandling of the cases resulted in revenue and operating losses of $1.5 million, and the loss of more than $1 million on the sale of Greenberg’s interest in the club, according to The Boston Globe.

“Basically, they took the case, they touted the case to the client, they did some good early work on the case … and it looks like they didn’t do much of anything else,” Charles P. Kazarian, one of several lawyers representing Greenberg, told the paper.”We’re trying to understand what the heck happened.”

A November 1997 incident where then-New England Patriots players Drew Bledsoe and Max Lane jumped off the stage during an Everclear concert and allegedly injured a woman in the crowd drew additional scrutiny from city officials. Although police investigated the incident and decided no criminal charges were warranted, the Paradise was issued a violation for a disturbance resulting in an injury to a patron.

Greenberg sold his interest in the Paradise to new owners in 2000 following a six-month liquor license suspension.