The owner of Caf‚ Lovish filed a petition asking to be added to a list of seven other local business currently awaiting a court decision to temporarily halt enforcement of the Ames smoking ban.

Lovish Bederazack, owner of the restaurant at 2512 Lincoln Way, filed an application for intervention Monday morning.

He was unavailable for comment Tuesday afternoon.

Fred Dorr, the Des Moines lawyer representing the eight business owners, said he expects a judge to decide whether to add Bederazack to the list of plaintiffs in a few days, as long as the city of Ames does not ask for a hearing.

“It’s the kind of thing a judge can rule on without a hearing, if he wants,” he said.

The petition is necessary when someone wants to join the suit after a hearing, Dorr said.

Dorr and John Klaus, Ames city attorney, presented arguments to State District Judge Carl D. Baker of Marshalltown on Oct. 2.

Baker is expected to give a ruling in a matter of days.

Klaus said he “has no reason to believe” Bederazack’s petition will postpone the ruling.

Dorr declined further comment.

Business owners of the following restaurants filed the original petition on Sept. 24: Cyclone Truck Stop, 1811 S. Dayton Ave.; Wallaby’s, 3720 Lincoln Way; Tradewinds Caf‚, 115 5th St.; Dublin Bay, 320 S. 16th St., Caf‚ Beaudelaire, 2504 Lincoln Way; People’s Bar and Grill, 2428 Lincoln Way; and Whiskey River, 132 Main St.