On February 24, 2026, my co-counsel, Gillian Garrett and I filed suit against the State of California challenging laws that allow California wineries to sell directly to California retailers without using a wholesaler, while denying those same privileges to out-of-state wineries.
We believe California’s system violates the dormant Commerce Clause by granting in-state wineries a substantial […]
A week after its discriminatory wine retailer shipping law was found unconstitutional by the Sixth Circuit, Ohio filed a motion to stay the Sixth Circuit’s mandate.
In the first line of the motion Ohio AG Dave Yost states that Ohio intends to file a writ of certiorari in this case with SCOTUS and the deadline for filing […]
In February, I announced a lawsuit that I filed with my co-counsel, Gillian Garrett, on behalf of Blue Sky Vineyards (an Illinois winery) and The Wine Country (a California retailer in Signal Hill). The case asks a focused question: when California allows in-state wineries to sell wine directly to California retailers, can […]
One day after the Sixth Circuit decision held Ohio’s wine retailer shipping law and alcohol transportation restrictions unconstitutional, the petitioners challenging Arizona’s discriminatory wine retailer shipping law filed a Supplemental Brief with the U.S. Supreme Court.
The petition has centered on a growing split among the circuits over how courts should analyze […]
The Sixth Circuit reversed and remanded a district court decision upholding Ohio’s discriminatory wine retailer shipping law and its law limiting Ohio residents from transporting wine into the state. As the Court stated “We thus hold the Direct Ship Restriction unconstitutional.”
The Sixth Circuit held that the district court’s focusing its Tennessee Wine analysis on […]
Mississippi’s alcohol distribution system is breaking down in real time. Deliveries that once took two or three days are now taking five to six weeks. The state’s own wholesale arm has been slowed by software failures and operational delays, leaving retailers without the inventory they depend on to stay in business.
This is not a minor […]
A very telling article written by Alfonso Cevola, who worked as the Italian Wine Director for Southern Glazer Wine & Spirits (Southern) for nearly 30 years, demonstrates how the wholesale tier changed their practices to worsen the bottleneck crisis for small wineries. Yes, the same tier that lobbies to take away market opportunities for […]
A recently released book by Gillian Garrett represents a meaningful advancement in the liquor regulatory space. Distilling Alcohol Law: Federal & California Unfair Trade Practices is a comprehensive and highly practical guide for attorneys, consultants, and industry professionals navigating the complex landscape of tied-house laws and trade practice regulations. With a […]
HB 5452 was introduced last month in Illinois with the ambitious goal of bringing hemp under the Illinois Liquor Control Act (ILCA).
The bill proposes to rename the law, the Liquor and Hemp Products Control Act and would establish the Hemp Products Commission as a division of the Illinois Liquor Control Commission (ILCC).
There are many […]
I am honored to be in Wine Spectator discussing the U.S. Supreme Court cert petition filed challenging the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Day v. Henry.
The Supreme Court should grant cert in this case as the circuits have muddled the case and there is no clear standard which applies. As the Wine Spectator piece states.
“I think […]