APPEALS CASE HEATS UP IN MAINE
Things are heating up again in Maine where the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals will eventually hear an appeals case brought forth by wineries sometime later this year. The Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA) and National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) issued their amicus brief earlier today in support of a lower court ruling which upheld Maine’s decision to prohibit direct wine shipping.
In March 2007, the US District Court in Maine upheld a state law that prohibits the direct shipment of wine to Maine residents, but allows residents to make face-to-face purchases at wineries located in Maine and elsewhere. In other words, Maine requires alcohol to be sold through wholesalers to retailers, and then to consumers in a face-to-face transaction whether at a winery or a retail location.
The District Court decision was made after a lawsuit filed by an Oregon winery argued that Maine’s ban on internet, mail and telephone sales was in direct violation of the Commerce Clause
The U.S. District Court in Maine reasoned that Maine’s current law did not “impose any cognizable burden on interstate commerce that could possibly outweigh the putative local benefit of regulating minors’ access to alcohol.”
The court also concluded that the ban is even-handed because it applies equally to in-state and out-of-state producers.
Wineries argue that limiting Maine resident to face-to-face sales is protectionist because they’re more likely to visit an in-state winery than an out-of-state winery.
The case is not expected to proceed until later this year, but we’ll keep you up to speed as it happens.
In March 2007, the US District Court in Maine upheld a state law that prohibits the direct shipment of wine to Maine residents, but allows residents to make face-to-face purchases at wineries located in Maine and elsewhere. In other words, Maine requires alcohol to be sold through wholesalers to retailers, and then to consumers in a face-to-face transaction whether at a winery or a retail location.
The District Court decision was made after a lawsuit filed by an Oregon winery argued that Maine’s ban on internet, mail and telephone sales was in direct violation of the Commerce Clause
The U.S. District Court in Maine reasoned that Maine’s current law did not “impose any cognizable burden on interstate commerce that could possibly outweigh the putative local benefit of regulating minors’ access to alcohol.”
The court also concluded that the ban is even-handed because it applies equally to in-state and out-of-state producers.
Wineries argue that limiting Maine resident to face-to-face sales is protectionist because they’re more likely to visit an in-state winery than an out-of-state winery.
The case is not expected to proceed until later this year, but we’ll keep you up to speed as it happens.
posted at 1:50 PM
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