The Sixth Circuit Finally Lets the Retailer DTC Plaintiffs Win — But Block v. Canepa Is Not the End of the Three-Tier System
Watch retailer direct-shipping litigation long enough and you start to recognize the rhythm. Out-of-state...
Category: Opinions
The Fourth Amendment Walks Into a Bar: Federal Court Says Michigan’s Warrantless Liquor Inspection Law Is Unconstitutional. Your State’s May Be as Well
Every alcohol licensee knows the knock. A liquor investigator, police officer, excise agent, revenue...
NY Distillery Wins Key Insurance Ruling on Barrel Collapse Coverage; Time to Check Your Coverage for This Issue
A federal court in New York delivered a major win for beverage producers facing...
Farm Bill Hemp Preemption Fails: 4th and 8th Circuits Uphold State THC Bans in Bio Gen and Virginia Hemp Rulings
Two Courts, One Message: States Can Ban Intoxicating Hemp In back-to-back rulings, the Fourth...
Defining The Brand: Protecting Distributor Goodwill When Non-Alcoholic Brands Enter the Alcohol Market
In the recent federal court decision from the Western District of Michigan, Capitol Beverage...
When Bottles Break and Contracts Bend: Lessons from the MacH Flynt v. Veritiv Warranty Dispute
When bottles break in transit or on the production line, the resulting cracks often...
The Sixth Circuit Misses the Mark in Cavalier v. Lime Ventures – Failing to Protect the Value Distributors Create in Brands
In its recent decision in Cavalier Distributing Co., Inc. v. Lime Ventures, Inc. (link...
Court finds statute barring retailer warehouse storage out of jurisdiction of alcoholic beverage control authority does not violate Dormant Commerce Clause. Finally, a Tennessee Wine case that is NOT about direct wine shipping.
We will look back to find that the greatest result of Tennessee Wine’s “test”...
The Tennessee Wine Test? 6th Circuit falls in line with requiring evidence of out-of-state alcohol shipping restriction’s health and safety benefits in order to surmount a Dormant Commerce Clause challenge. The State says it wants to take the matter to the Supreme Court.
“However, the Court in Lebamoff did not hold that direct ship restrictions are always...
Valuable insight on packaging design and labeling offered in Court’s dismissal of claims that hard seltzer conveyed the impression it contained tequila. Saying “Margarita Hard Seltzer” is not the same as saying “Sparkling Margarita” or “Margarita Cocktail.”
Context is crucial. That’s the takeaway from this recent opinion out of a New...
5th Circuit’s pun-filled opinion upholds CANarchy’s right to sell beer to go in Texas because it leases and does not “own” most of its breweries across the country.
When we first wrote about this matter back in February of 2021, it was...
Court finds craft brewer’s label protected by free speech, state regulation of label content unconstitutional (yes, it’s Flying Dog… again)
Flying Dog Brewery has long been known for its Ralph Steadman label artwork. Steadman...
