Archive for the ‘Wine Legal Battles’ Category
What’s absolutely clear from Wednesday’s Tennessee Wine v. Thomas Supreme Court decision is that the case was clearly originally taken by the Court for one reason and one reason only: To state clearly that the 2005 Granholm v Heald Supreme Court decision with its non-discrimination and anti-protectionism principles that altered the direct shipping landscape applies equally to retailers as it does to wineries. One wonders how long the Court has been waiting for a case to make this point. As…
With the recently announced merger of wine and spirits distributor Young’s Market with Republic National Distributing, we now have three companies that control more than 60% of wine and spirits distribution market in the United States: Southern Glazers, the new Republic-National-Youngs, and Breathru Beverage. It has long been a near unbreakable tenet and motivation of state alcohol regulation that no single company be allowed to control too great a portion of the market. Back in 2017, for example, when state…
The recent opening of Florida for wine shipments from out-of-state wine retailers is a story of “be careful what you DON’T ask for”. In 2005, in the wake of the Granholm v Heald Supreme Court decision, a Florida Federal District Court ruled that the state was barred from enforcing its laws that banned out-of-state shipments of wine. At the time wineries rightfully celebrated. However, there was also in place an assumption that the Court order barring enforcement of the state’s…
Some folks believe that using a “Straw Man” argument is a sure sign of intellectual and personal weakness. Others believe the use of straw man arguments is a sign of fear—the equivalent of turning your back on a challenger and running as fast as you can. For the record, a straw man argument is defined as: “an intentionally misrepresented proposition that is set up because it is easier to defeat than an opponent’s real argument.” I want to thank the…
Since the 2005 Granholm v Heald Supreme Court ruling that deemed it unconstitutional for a state to allow direct to consumer wine shipments from in-state shippers but not from out-of-state wine shippers, numerous subsequent court cases have challenged state laws that impact the direct shipment of wine to consumers. Many of these cases have challenged laws that remain on the books that allow in-state retailers to ship wine to consumers in those state but prohibit out-of-state wine retailers do to…
