The doors have closed on the Hotel Gearin at Katoomba, the town's oldest licensed pub.
The pub shut at the end of March.
The matter has now moved into the courts, where the pub's owner, Garry Wilson, is suing the former licensee, Robert Dobson, over alleged unpaid rent.
The case is listed as a civil matter before Justice David Davies in the NSW Supreme Court on Wednesday.
Mr Dobson disputes Mr Wilson's assertions and will defend the claim in court.
Mr Dobson took over the lease in April, 2014. He is a long-term Mountains resident, having grown up in Blaxland.
He worked as a manager at Gearins some years ago and later worked at the Lawson pub.
The pub had become a bright spot in the live music scene, with regular gigs in the Roxy Room.