Yale University and Toad's Place, a famed New Haven, Conn. nightclub, are headed to court over a property dispute regarding a walkway of the school's just outside the club.
According to the New Haven Register, Toad's Place wants to be able to allow its attendees to exit the club in an emergency situation onto the Yale-owned walkway. The walkway is a path for pedestrians to walk from York Street to the shops on Broadway as well as a way to access two of the school's residential colleges.
This property dispute has been ongoing for about five years and will go to trial if a settlement is not reached within the next few months.
Toad's Place, which has been open for 40 years, has hosted music acts like Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, U2 and many more. If a settlement cannot be reached and the club loses in court, Toad's Place could be shut down.
The Associated Press reported Yale has maintained that it is not trying to get Toad's to close, but has filed a lawsuit accusing the club of trespassing.
Yale's lawsuit says the club allows its patrons to trespass by allowing them to exit onto their property, NBC Connecticut reported. The school says this encourages club attendees to drink, smoke and litter on the Ivy League school's campus.
"Yale is still willing to enter into a license agreement affording Toad's access for emergency purposes while at the same time preventing the improper and disruptive use of Yale's property," Tom Conroy, a school spokesman, said in a statement. "There is no desire by Yale to have a negative effect on Toad's business."
The two sides have had a deal in place for 30 years allowing Toad's to use the walkway, reported the Register, but Yale could revoke that agreement at any time. The school attempted to renew that deal for another ten years, but the club's attorney, James Segaloff, said the agreement is unfair to Toad's.
The club benefits from its close proximity to Yale's campus, attracting students for many of its events. On Wednesday nights, the club only allows people with a Yale ID admittance.
"I feel like it has become a Yale tradition," one student told the Register. "I feel like you have to go to Toad's on Wednesday night, which we call Woad's."