« Environment - Recent stories | Main | Indiana Courts - More on the school fees case »

Saturday, December 11, 2004

Law - More on interstate wine shipment

Supplementing our entry from Dec. 8 on the Dec. 7th interstate wine oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court are two reports from the PBS NewsHour, initially broadcast the evening of Dec. 7th, 2004. First, "A report on wine consumers in Michigan who won a case challenging state laws blocking wine imports, now in appeal." Second, " A Supreme Court reporter discusses the case brought by Michigan's wineries to appeal the decision by the Sixth Circuit Court allowing Michigan consumers to import out-of-state wine over the Internet." The video is available for viewing as the fourth and fifth sequents on this page.

[More] The Sacramento Bee today has a story titled "Wineries unite on direct shipping" that begins:

WASHINGTON - Wineries large and small stand nearly shoulder to shoulder as they await a Supreme Court decision on direct shipping to customers.

But the industry wasn't always so united.

Not so long ago, Modesto's E&J Gallo Winery stood apart from California's small wineries. Indeed, it says something about the industry's evolution that in the early stages of the legal battle, which climaxed in the Supreme Court on Tuesday, Gallo and the small wineries were adversaries, not allies.

The article goes on to provide interesting detail on the history of the large and small winery involvements. It concludes with this section about how Gallo weighed in on the original interestate wine case, an Indiana case, on the side of the wine wholesalers, but how it has since changed its stance:
Gallo was weighing in on the first direct shipping case, which then was winding through the lower courts. A district judge had struck down Indiana's direct shipping ban, and the state was appealing. Gallo hired [Walter] Dellinger to file an amicus brief, spelling out the company's stake in the case then known as Bridenbaugh v. Modisett.

The company aligned its arguments, at the time, with the wholesalers who were likewise fighting the wineries that advocated direct shipping.

"As the world's largest winemaker, Gallo Winery has distributorship agreements in all 50 states with hundreds of wholesalers, including several in Indiana," the company noted in its brief. The company added that "the decision in this case may fundamentally alter how Gallo Winery conducts its business not only in Indiana, but also around the country."

Gallo's position, which included the 21st Amendment contention, and that of the state of Indiana, prevailed in the earlier Bridenbaugh case. In time, though, as other legal challenges rose through the courts, Gallo amended its opposition to direct shipping.

"It's a different time," Gallo spokesman John Segale said, "and that's not the position they have today."

Instead, Gallo has adopted a studied neutrality, or, as Genesen put it, "after Bridenbaugh, they became agnostic."

Consequently, the company says it can be content with whatever the court does. This is not the same as the enthusiastic support for direct shipping articulated by smaller wineries, but it is definitely a shift from the old opposition.

"This case is going to be decided by the court, Segale said, "and we're prepared to do business with any decision they make."

Posted by Marcia Oddi on December 11, 2004 01:52 PM
Posted to General Law Related