Licensing Board: Dorchester bar did nothing wrong the night seven people were stabbed

The Boston Licensing Board today found "no violation" in the actions of Ups N Downs on Feb. 23, when somebody stabbed seven people, but the bar remains closed and still plans to shut down forever.

The bar argued the incident, in which exchanged words escalated into a brawl and then somebody whipped out a knife, was unforeseeable. A bar security person testified Tuesday none of the fighters were regulars at the Neponset Circle bar.

Ups N Downs attorney Michael Ford said today he is pleased the board agreed that not only could bar workers not have seen the fight coming, but that they did everything they could to bring it under control, and, after that didn't work, called 911 for help.

However, he said owner Arthur Sutliffe still plans to sell his liquor license, likely to the Boston Tea Party Museum, which has made him an offer for the valuable commodity.

Ford said Ups N Downs will remain closed until after the Mayor's Office of Consumer Affairs and Licensing releases its ruling on the incident. The office held its own hearing on the incident on Wednesday, but has up to a month to release a decision.

Barring a negative ruling from the office, Ford said, the bar would re-open just its first floor until the license sale went through. The stabbings stemmed from a fight on the second floor.