Sheridan County opponents of four closed beer stores in Whiteclay are trying to halt the stores' legal efforts to reopen.
David Domina, an attorney representing the opponents, moved Friday to include them as parties in an ongoing appeal of the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission's April 24 order closing the stores.
He also sought to have the appeal tossed on procedural grounds.
The Nebraska Supreme Court is expected to hear oral arguments in the case Aug. 29.
Domina claims the appeal itself is invalid for two reasons: first, because it didn't include the Sheridan County residents whose formal protests triggered the Liquor Commission's decision; and second, because a Lincoln judge erred by rejecting the commission's order without reviewing the full record.
If the Supreme Court agrees the appeal is void, Domina contends that it's too late for the beer stores to challenge the Liquor Commission again.
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Under state law, such appeals must be filed within 30 days of the original decision.
Whiteclay is a short walk from South Dakota's Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, where alcohol is banned.
Before they closed April 29, the four beer stores in Whiteclay sold millions of cans of beer and malt liquor each year to the reservation's Oglala Lakota residents.
The Liquor Control Commission decided not to renew the stores' liquor licenses last month after deciding that Whiteclay lacks adequate law enforcement. The store owners are challenging that order.
