End possibly near for legal fight over vacant steakhouse space on Boylston Street

The Boston Licensing Board voted yesterday to give lawyers for Morton's of Chicago and its Boylston Street landlord three months to resolve a lawsuit over back rent, a move that could result in a new restaurant moving into the prominent space.

The landlord formally evicted Morton's in January for failing to pay its rent - and then sued to ensure that if Morton's tried to sell its liquor license, the landlord would get its share.

At a hearing before the Boston Licensing Board on Tuesday, lawyers agreed the license is the one thing left at the restaurant that has any value and that the main issue they are still negotiating is just what that value is.

Morton's lawyers say they are willing to pay the roughly $216,000 in back rent the chain owes. The landlord's lawyer, Dennis Quilty, however, notes that liquor licenses in the Back Bay have been going for between $300,000 and $400,000 of late and want to make sure they get enough to cover future back rent and any required repairs.

The demand for liquor licenses in Boston exceeds the supply. The issue in the Back Bay has been exacerbated by the board's longstanding policy of not allowing new liquor licenses into the neighborhood - at the request of the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay. In May, however, board Chairwoman Nicole Murati Ferrer said she would no longer go along with that policy.

Quilty said one possible part of any settlement would be for Morton's to hand the license over to the landlord, which would then attempt to find a new restaurant tenant.