I contributed to Blake Gray’s great piece on New York SLA’s decision on refusal to grant a retail liquor license on absurd grounds.
Playing economic Nostradamus SLA believed the store wouldn’t make money so they denied the license. They also ridiculed the applicant because “All the money appears to be coming from your wife, correct?”
Beyond […]
Great to contribute to Blake Gray’s fantastic piece on the U.S. Treasury’s report on alcohol reform, which was much needed. What better way to make your 60th media appearance than being part of this article
The Year the Battle begins
2020 and 2021 were interesting years in the liquor world, so what kind of encore will we have in 2022. Only the future will tell, but looking into the crystal ball, I see a year of great activity that could turn the liquor markets into different directions.
Seventh Circuit Oral Argument
Last Friday, oral arguments took place before the 7th Circuit, in Chicago Wine Company v. Holcomb, which challenges Indiana’s ban on out-of-state retailers delivering wine into the state or using common carriers to ship product. The delivery challenge is based on a facially discriminatory statute, which allows Indiana […]
The Supreme Court issued an order denying cert in Schmitt v. Sarasota Wine, which appealed the 8th Circuit’s decision upholding Missouri’s discriminatory wine retailer shipping law.
The Supreme Court meets again, will it be different this time?
On October 8th, the Supreme Court will hold a conference to discuss whether to grant cert in Sarasota Wine Market LLC v. Schmitt. The petitioners challenged the 8th Circuit’s ruling, which upheld Missouri’s discriminatory wine retailer shipping law. Under the Missouri law, in-state […]
Lebamoff v. O’Connell was dismissed yesterday as the plaintiff is no longer involved in the case based on a business transaction.
This case is the story of pathetic case management and a 94 year-old judge that dragged things on.
We thought this case was set for trial back in April and the date kept getting moved.
By the […]
Judge John Lee replaces Judge William Hart in the Lebamoff v. O’Connell case.
It has been an interesting turn of events as this case has been delayed several times.
Judge Hart is 92 years and has been a senior judge since 1996.
I am hoping with Judge Lee there won’t be as many delays for the trial.
Introduction
In my amicus brief to the United States Supreme Court, I attacked the Eighth Circuit’s analysis in Sarasota Wine Market, which upheld a discriminatory state liquor law, because the law protected an essential element of the three-tier system and hence was precluded from a Commerce Clause challenge. I will […]
Irish Liquor Lawyer writes an amicus brief in support of the National Association of Wine Retailer’s position that the Supreme Court should grant cert in Sarasota Wine Market v. Schmitt, an Eighth Circuit decision which upheld a lower court decision affirming Missouri’s discriminatory wine shipping law as Constitutional.
The Eighth Circuit held that because Missouri’s law […]