{"id":466299,"date":"2026-09-17T03:10:08","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T03:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/466299\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T03:10:08","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T03:10:08","slug":"illinois-winery-chugs-forward-in-california-alcohol-sales-lawsuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/466299\/","title":{"rendered":"Illinois winery chugs forward in California alcohol sales lawsuit"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Golden State currently applies different regulations to local wineries versus out-of-state operations.<\/p>\n

(CN) \u2014\u00a0 An Illinois winery\u2019s sour grapes over California alcohol regulations will move ahead, a federal judge ruled Wednesday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

U.S. Senior District Judge John Mendez partially\u00a0denied California\u2019s attempt to dismiss Blue Sky Vineyards\u2019 challenge to a law that the winery claims puts out-of-state producers like itself at an unlawful disadvantage by only letting in-state wineries sell wine directly to California retailers.<\/p>\n

Allowing the winery\u2019s commerce clause claim to survive, Mendez, a George W. Bush appointee, noted the state couldn\u2019t yet prove beyond doubt that its authority under the 21st Amendment \u2014 which contains a section banning the import of alcohol into states and territories that have prohibition laws \u2014 conflicted with the commerce clause, often cited to prevent states from upholding protectionist laws that give in-state businesses an advantage over out-of-state competitors,<\/p>\n

The test over if the conflict exists \u201crequires evidence that the state law is not discriminatory and has no \u2019legitimate nonprotectionist\u2019 justification,\u201d Mendez wrote. \u201cSuch factual questions cannot be decided on the pleadings at this early stage of the case and dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6) is improper here.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that state laws in Michigan and New York preventing out-of-state wineries from shipping directly to consumers, as in-state wineries were permitted to do, were unconstitutional because of that conflict.<\/p>\n

The southern Illinois winery claims the law allows only California wineries to bypass the typical \u201cthree-tier system\u201d \u2014 where wineries sell to a middleman entity which then sells to retail businesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat means out-of-state wineries must sell through an importer\/wholesaler, which adds costs that make distribution agreements economically undesirable if not entirely unrealistic,\u201d Blue Sky Vineyards wrote in its February complaint<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mendez said the winery\u2019s commerce clause claim was valid at this point of the proceedings.<\/p>\n

\u201cNearly all the cases cited by defendants in support of their argument that the three-tier system is constitutionally valid decided this issue on summary judgment rather than a motion to dismiss,\u201d the judge wrote.<\/p>\n

But Mendez did give California a slight win, granting its request to toss out the winery\u2019s privileges and immunities clause claim, writing that the clause only affords protections to citizens, not corporations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re pleased with the judge\u2019s decision, he adopted a lot of the reasoning we had in our brief and we certainly think that it was rightly decided,\u201d said Gillian Garrett, lead attorney for Blue Sky Vineyards, in a phone call. \u201cNow we move into the really crucial phase of the case &mldr; discovery and a motion for summary judgment.\u201d<\/p>\n

The winery sued Rob Bonta, California\u2019s Attorney General, and Paul Tupy, director of the state\u2019s Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, in February.<\/p>\n

The California Attorney General\u2019s office did not immediately respond to request for comment.<\/p>\n

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