Far West Nightclub Fails to Pay Songwriters Royalties, Federal Lawsuit Claims

Last edited Wed Nov 15, 2017, 03:34 AM - Edit history (1)

Far West nightclub, at the corner of South Buckner Boulevard and Elam Road in Dallas, has had its share of problems over the years. It's one of the most popular Tejano nightclubs in Dallas and has more than 180,000 followers on Facebook. When it was located near the Lakewood Hills neighborhood, some called it a rowdy place known for "weekly pandemonium."

The mega-nightclub faced opposition from neighbors in Lakewood Hills who contacted the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission about violence at the club, sending a 14-page letter that detailed a shooting that led to a police chase. It also outlined seven aggravated assault complaints filed at Far West between January and April 2011, the Lakewood Advocate said in an April 22, 2011, report.

"I filed a protest with the TABC," says Dallas-based attorney Dolores Wolfe, who represented 13 neighborhood homeowners associations in the complaint. "At a mediation with us, the TABC and the owners, the owners agreed to let their alcohol license lapse and we all understood when that happened, that they would have to move out."

Far West eventually moved to its new location, where it is now facing opposition once again. This time, it involves a copyright-infringement lawsuit filed by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers — an organization with more than 600,000 members — in federal court in Dallas.

Read more: http://www.dallasobserver.com/music/popular-dallas-tejano-night-club-sued-in-federal-court-for-not-paying-songwriters-10060514