The on-again, off-again highly publicized move of the Sideslines Sports Bar from its current location at the south end of Wilton Drive to the site of the former Jib Room on East Oakland Park Boulevard is officially off the table. The signage which for much of the past year had proudly announced the “Future Site of Sideslines Sports Bar” has been removed from the building at 2104 E Oakland Park Blvd., with parts of the old Jib Room sign now showing.

While some renovations were begun on the interior of the 6,000 square foot Oakland Park space, no legal building permits were issued and rumors along the Drive suggested that the move would never occur.

Compounding the intrigue, as recently as this week, Sidelines was officially listed for sale by John Castelli, owner-broker of Castelli Real Estate Services, in Wilton Manors. The asking price of $675,000 included the business’s 4COP liquor license that was valued at $160,000, as well as all equipment. The property has since been removed from the market.

That is, perhaps, the only move involving the sports bar that could have been predicted. For months, Sidelines Sports Bar LLC, its license holder Laurie Whittaker and co-owner Marty Kildea, have been involved in litigation over ownership of the sports bar. On legal documents, Laurie Whittaker is listed as the sole owner of Sidelines Sports Bar LLC and holds the liquor license to the club.

According to Kildea, despite the fact that they went into the business relationship together, and he is a co-signer with Whittaker on the lease, he was told that he couldn’t “officially” be listed on any documents because of an arrest for cocaine possession prior to the opening of the bar. He was eventually convicted of the charge on August 8, 2007.

As a result of the on-going litigation, a notice of lis pendens has been recorded with the Florida Department of Business Regulation’s Division of Alcoholic, Beverages and Tobacco, effectively blocking the unencumbered sale of the liquor license, and further complicating the sale of the business.

Multiple attempts by the Florida Agenda to contact Whittaker over the past several months have been unsuccessful, and a gag order has been placed on the various hearings involving the on-going litigation with most of the motions, nevertheless, being ruled in favor of plaintiff Kildea.

In his court case, originally filed July 27, 2011, Kildea alleges that Whittaker knowingly misled him about the liquor license and their partnership. Additionally, he claims that Whittaker, by “taking $10,000 per month more than agreed to, misappropriated assets of Sidelines for her own personal gain,” and that she took “travel advances, expensing lavish parties and dinners,” and “personal vacations, which were paid with credit cards” issued in Sidelines’ name. Whittaker denies that allegation as well.

While “respectfully” refusing to comment for this story, in her sworn answers to Kildea’s lawsuit, Whittaker takes the position that his allegations “are based upon and completely emanate from an alleged oral contract that is illegal and against public policy in the State of Florida.” She further denies his right to examine the corporation’s bookkeeping records. The court has since ruled that Whittaker must make the bookkeeping records available to Kildea’s attorneys and accountant.

Sidelines opened May 12, 2006 in the former location of Circuit Bar, and was an immediate hit with a gay clientele that mixed easily with the occasional lesbian and heterosexual sports fan. During its first years of operation, Kildea was featured along with lawyer Whittaker in publicity releases and published articles listing them as “co-owners,” celebrating the success of what was an obviously well-run and appreciated Drive destination.

With Whittaker handling the financial transactions of the business and Kildea managing the bar, Sidelines drew much-needed traffic to the south end of Wilton Drive, and benefited many other businesses along the route. That all changed when Kildea was diagnosed with colon cancer in September, 2010.

After Kildea’s cancer surgery, however, he says that his ability to continue his day-to-day obligations was impacted by his ill health, which took a second hit when further cancer surgery and treatment was required in July 2011. It was then that things began to unravel—amid the bowls of peanuts and freshly made popcorn—inside the once happy Sidelines. And allegations began to fly.

“On a Tuesday in July, Laurie [Whittaker] came to me and offered to buy me out of the business for $50,000.” Kildea told the Florida Agenda. “Wednesday, Laurie had to have surgery on her throat for polyps, so she couldn’t talk. Her brother started to call me, demanding to know if I was going to take the offer. He said, ‘You need to just accept this because you’re not going to win on this.’”

Kildea claims that he was blindsided by the offer, particularly given that the bar had grossed $7 million during its first five years in business.

“I told him that I wasn’t accepting the offer. Thursday night, I received a text from Laurie saying, ‘Do not come back to the bar. I’m changing the locks on the doors, and you’re not welcome there anymore.’ Friday, I went and found a lawyer,” Kildea said.

Kildea was paid in the form of a bi-weekly check plus cash. Kildea alleges that then-Sidelines Marketing Director Jennifer Morales was being paid in cash, as well.

“We were paying Jennifer under the table because she was getting SSI (Supplemental Security Income)” for a diagnosed case of pulmonary hypertension, as well as ataxia, a progressive neurological disease, Kildea told the Florida Agenda last January (FA, January 3, 2013). In his suit, Kildea alleges that Morales, whose real name is Jennifer Mojica, was paid $750 a week “for her marketing efforts despite the fact that she is collecting disability and Medicare,” a claim that Whittaker denies.

Complicating the ownership issue, in printed releases from Morales’ own office during the first five years of the bar’s operation, Kildea is referred to as a “co-owner” along with Laurie Whittaker, Morales’ longtime girlfriend.

A story in the December 17, 2012 edition of the Agenda reported that, “Sidelines Sports Bar broke ground last week in their new location,” with the anticipated opening “in the early part of Winter 2013.” That story turned out to be more subterfuge in a saga steeped in intrigue.

Caught in the middle of the conflict is real estate mogul Tony Dee, owner of the building in which Sidelines Sports Bar is located. He has a valid lease, signed by both Kildea and Whittaker until the end of April 2014, and has been put on notice by Kildea that he plans on renewing the lease at its expiration. Dee told the Agenda that he’s had multiple enquiries about the space and has tentatively agreed to lease it to “the guys from Bill’s,” if and when the property becomes available.

In the meantime, Kildea continues to fight his colon cancer, which has required additional surgery and treatment. On April 24, 2013, he was arrested by the Fort Lauderdale police for manufacturing cannabis within 1,000 feet of a school or church. (Kildea’s home is located across the street from a church.) In his defense, Kildea says that he was using the marijuana for medicinal purposes to help with the pain associated with his disease.

Meanwhile, Sidelines Sports Bar continues to be open for business at 2031 Wilton Dr. though customer traffic is substantially lower than it was at the bar’s peak under Kildea.

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