One lawsuit that has already been briefed and had a bench trial is Alba Vineyards v. New York. This lawsuit argues that New York laws banning a New Jersey winery from self distributing to New York retailers are violations of the dormant Commerce Clause. I neglected to fully brief this case but since the trial…Read More
Supreme Court Asked to Resolve Circuit Split Over Federal Home Distilling Ban
July 28, 2026 All
The government lost one case in the 5th Circuit and the government won one case in the 6th Circuit. The losing party in the 6th Circuit has filed a petition for certiorari with the United States Supreme Court to resolve this conflict. The petition can be found here. The big news to watch is the…Read More
United States Supreme Court Denies Review of 7th and 9th Circuit Alcohol Retail Shipping Cases
May 18, 2026 21st Amendment All Supreme Court
The Supreme Court released its order list today on petitions of certiorari before them. Along with denials of another 150 cases, the Supreme Court denied the petitions in the 7th Circuit case out of Indiana and the 9th Circuit case out of Arizona. These cases were dormant Commerce Clause challenges to state alcohol laws that…Read More
New Lawsuit Filed in California Related to Winery Sales to Retailers
February 26, 2026 All
A new lawsuit has been filed in federal court in the Eastern District of California by an Illinois winery and a California retailer claiming that California law impermissibly favors California wineries over out of state wineries. The lawsuit alleges that the California laws violate the dormant Commerce Clause and the Privileges and Immunities Clause of…Read More
Maryland Beer Delivery Law Struck as Facially Discriminatory
February 26, 2026 All
Maryland has a law that was passed during the COVID situation to allow Maryland brewers to deliver beer to consumers using their own trucks. Out of state brewers were not afforded comparable privileges. A Washington brewery, a Pennsylvania brewery, and a Maryland consumer brought a lawsuit to challenge the Maryland law. The state of Maryland…Read More
