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Last updated March 20, 2007 11:42 p.m. PT

Bar owner says smoking ban fees violate rights
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

OLYMPIA -- A sports-bar owner who is embroiled in a legal fight over the state's smoking ban has filed a $1.5 million claim against Thurston County.

Frank Schnarrs, owner of Frankie's Sports Bar in Olympia, filed the claim Monday, his lawyer, Shawn Newman, said.

The claim results from a civil lawsuit the county filed against Schnarrs earlier this month. The county sought a contempt of court ruling against him for allegedly violating an earlier injunction to enforce the state's smoking ban.

Voters overwhelmingly passed an initiative more than a year ago that banned indoor smoking in public places.

The county sought $100-a-day fines dating back to Dec. 29 against Schnarrs, the day the injunction was filed, or about $7,500. Superior Court Judge Anne Hirsch refused Friday to hold Schnarrs in contempt, saying the county had not produced enough evidence.

Newman said the county made a mistake seeking punitive damages as part of a civil lawsuit. Thurston County officials "want to essentially treat my client as a felon without affording him the due process protections for those accused as suspects."

County Administrator Don Krupp said the county will evaluate the claim and determine whether it is valid.