A recent federal lawsuit filed by Ad Obscura LLC (The Obscure Distillery,) a California-based craft spirits producer, against the New York State Liquor Authority (“NYSLA”) could have significant implications for interstate liquor shipping regulations in the United States according to Food & Wine‘s April 21, 2025 article titled “This Lawsuit…
Tag: commerce clause
Supreme Court Says Tennessee Law Requiring Citizenship for Alcohol Retail License is Unconstitutional
Today, the Supreme Court struck down on a Tennessee regulation that requires residency of two years for applicants applying for an in-state retail alcohol license. In a 7-2 decision, the Court reasoned that, while the 21st Amendment extends states the right to regulate sales of alcohol within state border, there…
Supreme Court Grants Cert to A Granholm-Like Case for Retailers
On Thursday, September 27, 2018, the Supreme Court granted cert to a new case involving Granholm-like issues for the alcohol beverage wholesale and retail tiers. See Certiorari Granted. The case, Tennessee Wine and Spirits vs. Byrd Clayton, stems from a Tennessee law which requires in-state retail license applicants to satisfy residency requirements. The law…
Empire Wine Bill Passes in New York State Senate
In case yesterday’s news wasn’t good enough for industry members, today we are here to repot something even better: the acclaimed Empire Wine bill passed today in New York’s Senate. That’s quite a successful move for a bill that was only introduced a day ago. The bill now awaits Governor…
Empire Wine Bill Passes in New York State Assembly
In promising news for industry members, the much talked-about “Empire wine bill” pending in both New York’s Assembly and Senate passed in the Assembly on Monday, June 15, 2015. See A05920 Summary. Its sister bill, S04446A, is currently still pending in the state’s Senate and, according to Capitol Confidential, “has advanced to the third…
On Reserve Author Quoted in The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal recently published an article detailing the New York State Liquor Authority (“NYSLA”) and Empire Wine dispute on retailer direct shipment to consumers. The retailer originally filed suit against the NYSLA in September, shortly after the Authority issued a letter to Empire stating the retailer violated a state…
Court Dismisses Empire’s Lawsuit Against NYSLA
A New York State Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit launched by Empire Wine against the New York State Liquor Authority (“NYSLA”). In an 11-page ruling, Justice George Ceresia rejected Empire’s complaint that the statute upon which the NYSLA is relying is excessively vague, and denied Empire’s request for a preliminary injunction preventing…
Eighth Circuit Affirms Decision Against Southern Wine & Spirits Allowing Discrimination Against Out-of-State Wholesalers
In September, the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit decided a case with respect to wholesale licensing in the state of Missouri. Southern Wine and Spirits of America, Inc. (“SWSA”), the plaintiff-appellant, appealed from a lower court decision. The plaintiff-appellant, a foreign alcohol wholesaler, applied for a license to…
Revisited: Granholm v. Heald and the Wine Industry
This blog entry was originally posted on August 7, 2010, five years after the Supreme Court decided a major case impacting the wine industry. The decision Granholm v. Heald remains important to the wine industry and provides great context for the types of legal issues the American wine industry faces on a…
Costco Wholesale Corp v. Hoen and Federal Antitrust Law
The SCOTUS Granholm decision of 2005 is far-reaching with respect to subsequent issues entailing the three-tier distribution system. Many states allowed wineries to self-distribute their wines directly to retailers and bypass the wholesaler intermediary. This was the issue in Costco Wholesale Corp. v. Hoen, a case decided by the United…