Litigation Summaries

Supreme Court Ruling
Click here to read the text of the ruling, argued December 7, 2004, decided May 16, 2005.

Massachusetts
Summary judgment is expected late winter 2008 in this case that seeks to overturn the 30,000 gallon production cap.

Background
In 2006, Massachusetts passed a statute authorizing both limited direct-to-consumer sales and limited self-distribution of wine to Massachusetts retailers from out-of-state wineries. The law excludes any winery and wine company producing an aggregate of  more than 30,000 gallons annual production, and that has had a distributor in Massachusetts during the previous 6 months, from shipping directly to a consumer in Massachusetts.  

Coalition for Free Trade, Wine Institute, and other groups objected to these provisions, and had been successful in obtaining a veto in late 2005 from then Governor Mitt Romney, based on the discriminatory manner in which the bill was crafted.  Unfortunately, the legislature overturned the Governor’s veto in February 2006 and the new statute became effective in the summer of 2006. Since these actions, other states including Arizona and Maryland have also included similarly discriminatory provisions in their new laws.

On September 18, 2006, Coalition for Free Trade, Family Winemakers of California, and  Kirkland & Ellis filed a suit challenging these discriminatory portions of the new statute.  The suit, Family Winemakers of California v. Jenkins, seeks preliminary and permanent injunction barring the enforcement of these provisions of the statute.  Two Massachusetts wine consumers are also plaintiffs in the suit. Tracy Genesen of Kirkland & Ellis, and CFT Legal Director, is coordinating the legal actions on the suit with both Family Winemakers and the CFT.