The best rivalry in baseball provided the backdrop for a recent legal decision concerning the name of a proposed New Jersey bar.
Lawrence Blatterfein, a diehard Yankees fan living in New Brunswick, N.J., wanted to build an establishment and name it "Buck Foston." The mayor of New Brunswick, James Cahill, happens to be a Boston Red Sox fan who wasn't thrilled with Blatterfein's name.
If you don't see why this moniker might be controversial, swap the first letter of each word and you'll get a common refrain uttered by New York supporters.
Blatterfein says Cahill rejected the name and refused to provide the bar a liquor license on the grounds that it was "vulgar" and “didn’t belong in New Brunswick.” The mayor claimed that Blatterfein didn't provide the necessary paperwork and that the proposed location for the club was in the middle of one of the most heavily traveled intersections in the city.
Upon seeing the city's significant resistance, Blatterfein sued the city on the grounds that it was violating his First Amendment rights.
And now, some three years later, a seven-person jury has ruled in Blatterfein's favor and awarded him $1.5 million.
The only problem is that since filing the lawsuit, Blatterfein has moved to Florida and apparently has lost interest in the project. Still, he's proud of his fight.
"The First Amendment is sacrosanct in our country," he told the Wall Street Journal. "As it should be."
