Shortly before the president of Kerasotes Theatres Inc., took the witness stand Wednesday as an unlikely defendant in small claims court, he modified the company's "no-movie" clause on the historic Von Lee Theater building.

Tony Kerasotes capped the controversial restriction at 15 years, which will allow whoever owns the historic building on Kirkwood and Indiana at that time to show movies in 2019.

Although the original covenant did not include a time limit, Kerasotes said he never intended for it to last forever. In fact, he said, he would have negotiated the modification earlier if only someone had asked him "nicely."

The building has been the center of a storm between the chain — which closed the old Bloomington movie house in 2000 and put it up for sale — and preservationists who want to keep a working theater downtown.

The building — a designated historic structure on Kirkwood Avenue only a stone's throw from campus— has been boarded up since its closure. Kerasotes sold the building to a Greenwood developer last year, whose plans to open a restaurant and bar at the location have come under fire from several quarters, including the university.

Wednesday's development hardly appeased preservationist Chris Sturbaum, who believes Kerasotes modified the restriction only to make it appear "more reasonable" before the court. Sturbaum has sued Kerasotes' company, which owns Showplace East and West, for restraint of trade by restricting the use of the old theater.

On the surface, only $3,000 in legal fees and movie ticket money were at stake Wednesday, during the four-hour small claims hearing before Monroe Circuit Judge Elizabeth N. Mann. She didn't rule on the case Wednesday; instead, taking it under advisement while the attorneys file legal briefs.

But Sturbaum and his fellow plaintiffs, Rebecca and Ron Burchart and Kevin Bazur, say they are aiming to use their small claims case as a launching pad to influence national anti-trust policy.

"Our goal, really, is to change the law on a national level," Sturbaum said after the hearing.

Kerasotes bought the historic theater in 1976. The company shut it down in May 2000 after opening the expansive Showplace West theater complex. It was sold in May 2003 to Christopher Amore, of Artemis LLC on the condition that he could not show movies there.

Since its closure, Sturbaum, a historic preservationist who this month joined the Bloomington City Council, has organized weekly protests and a popcorn boycott of Kerasotes other theaters in town in an attempt to force a change in the no-movies clause.

He sees Kerasotes' decision to prohibit the use of Bloomington's downtown movie theater as a clear violation of anti-trust laws.

"This is business practice," Sturbaum said. "This is standard practice, and it's wrong."

Tony Kerasotes acknowledged in testimony that his company intended to limit competition by imposing the restrictions. But, he said, he sees that as sound business practice — especially in an era where independent and large movie theater companies alike are vulnerable to bankruptcy.

His lawyer asked him why the company shuts down old theaters and opens new ones. "Because the world moves on, and people demand more in the way of amenities," he responded.

After the hearing, Kerasotes said he has been "disheartened" by the local backlash against his company. He cited the popcorn boycott organized by Sturbaum in 2001, editorials in the local newspaper and the small claims lawsuit — which, he said, is the first time his company has been taken to court on an anti-trust issue.

More than anything, he said, he is upset by the portrayal of his family-owned business as "a greedy, evil monopoly."

"We try to be responsible, progressive businessmen who think about the community as, obviously, we have," Kerasotes said, pointing to his company's donation to the community of the Indiana Theatre in 1998.

That property is now the renovated Buskirk-Chumley Theatre, just up the street from the closed Von Lee.

"But also," he added, "We have to consider the economics."

Reporter Katy Murphy can be reached at 331-4378, or by e-mail at kmurphy@heraldt.com.