Supreme Court rejects retailer law bid
A group of Texan retailers has learned that its bid to get alcohol sales permit laws tightened has been thrown out by the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court has refused to comment on a bid by some Texas retailers to get an old law revivedThe Texas Package Stores Association had argued for a dormant law requiring applicants to reside in the state of Texas for at least a year to be reinstated.
They claim the law boosts cooperation with law enforcement and fosters community accountability.
The law itself, which also states that businesses can’t get alcohol permits unless more than half its stock is owned by Texas residents, is technically still valid, but it has not been enforced for years after a court deemed it protectionist.
Retailer Fine Wine & Spirits of North Texas and Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits also argued against the case.
The Supreme Court declined to review the case.
According to Law360.com, the dispute dates back more than two decades, when two people tried to buy a Texas nightclub, but were barred from doing so because of the residency requirement.
They went on to successfully sue the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.
Earlier this year McLane Company, a US$28 billion supply chain services business owned by Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, joined the Texas Association of Business in filing a federal lawsuit against the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission in Austin, Texas, over claims the three-tier system in Texas was not operating independently.
