Appeals court sides with wine bar owner in legal fight over candles.

Massachusetts appellate judges sided with the former owners of a Cambridge bar who fought efforts to enforce a nonexistent candle law only to be accused of intimidation and hindering an investigation.

Why it matters: The ruling issued this week upholds the business owners' First Amendment rights to file a complaint against efforts to enforce a law that didn't exist at the time.

Catch up quick: The feud started six years ago when fire inspectors threatened to shut down UpperWest, a Cambridge wine bar owned by Kimberly Courtney and Xavier Dietrich, for setting out tea light candles.

• The inspectors claimed it violated a local fire safety law and, when challenged by Courtney, cited a state law about using candles for portable cooking equipment, per the ruling.
• Courtney ultimately put out the candles, but she and Dietrich later faced local charges from the Cambridge licensing board for violating a fire safety law, witness intimidation, hindering and threatening a public official.
• The state alcohol licensing commission ultimately dismissed the fire safety violation but upheld the other charges, prompting the owners to sue the agency.

State of play: The restaurant closed in 2019, but the state agency's decision could affect the owners' ability to secure an alcohol license if they launch another business, per the Cambridge Day , which first reported on the ruling.

The decision boils down to two points: The owners never intimidated the fire inspectors and the commission's entire decision was based on "an error of law," the judges wrote.

Zoom in: While local officials claimed Courtney said, "you will live to regret this," videos of the incident turned up no evidence of that, per the ruling.

• Video does show Courtney saying, "you guys are going to regret behaving this way. This is not how this works."
• The ruling states Courtney's remark reflected her intent to file a complaint over the officials' behavior, not a "true threat."

Between the lines: Cambridge fire officials issued a local ban on lit candles in restaurants and bars in 2019, with an exception for birthday candles on a cake.

• At the time, the Cambridge Day reported that 52 of the 1,680 fires in Cambridge, or 3%, between 2001 and 2018 were caused by candles.

What's next: The appellate ruling settles the matter unless the state licensing agency asks the Supreme Judicial Court to weigh in.

• A spokesperson for the Massachusetts State Treasury, which oversees the state licensing agency, declined to comment except to say the commission is reviewing the ruling.
• Axios has reached out to Cambridge officials for comment.

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