McDermott Will & Emery
Subscribe to McDermott Will & Emery's PostsRuling Permits On-Premises Beer and Wine Licenses for New York Movie Theaters
By McDermott Will & Emery on Feb 17, 2022
Posted In Distribution, Licensing
On January 26, 2022, the New York State Liquor Authority issued a Declaratory Ruling regarding the eligibility of New York movie theaters to apply for and obtain on-premises retail licenses for beer and wine service. This is a value-add for theaters, and it allows businesses to provide a new amenity to customers and increase their...
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Importing and Exporting Beer
By McDermott Will & Emery on Mar 26, 2020
Posted In Food Safety and FDA, Import/Export, TTB COLAs and Formulas
Importing and exporting beer or other alcohol beverages involves multiple levels of government regulation and taxation. Some regulations, taxes, and reporting requirements mirror your existing compliance obligations as a brewery. Other obligations are unique and include government agencies that are not involved in regulating domestic producers, such as US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and...
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Mississippi Supreme Court Rejects ‘Passage of Title’ DTC Theory
By McDermott Will & Emery on Mar 6, 2020
Posted In Alcohol Excise Taxes, Distribution
Last week, the Supreme Court of Mississippi handed down an opinion in Fitch v. Wine Express Inc., No. 2018-SA-01259-SCT. A state court decision on the rather dry subject of personal jurisdiction often merits little comment, but the Fitch opinion features an emphatic rejection of the legal theory relied upon by many direct-to-consumer retail alcohol sellers...
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Oklahoma Supreme Court Strikes Down New Distribution Statute as Unconstitutional
By McDermott Will & Emery on Jan 24, 2020
Posted In Distribution, Legislation
In a win for alcohol beverage suppliers, on Wednesday the Oklahoma Supreme Court issued an opinion in The Institute For Responsible Alcohol Policy v. State ex rel. Alcohol Beverage Laws Enforcement Comm’n. In a 5-4 ruling, the court struck down as unconstitutional a statute requiring the top 25 wine and spirits brands in the state,...
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Federal Alcohol Excise Taxes 101
By McDermott Will & Emery on Jan 2, 2020
Posted In Alcohol Excise Taxes, Legislation
There are many laws at both the federal and state level that govern the production and distribution of distilled spirits. For example, craft distillers must comply with licensing and permitting requirements, trade practice laws, advertising restrictions, and, depending on the jurisdiction, alcohol franchise law. One of the most fundamental—and most complex—areas of law governing distilled...
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Court Dismisses Challenge to TTB’s Rejection of Health Claims on Vodka
By McDermott Will & Emery on Sep 5, 2019
Posted In Advertising and Marketing, Food Safety and FDA, TTB COLAs and Formulas
In August, the US District Court for the District of Columbia issued its final decision in Bellion Spirits, LLC v. United States, Civ. No. 17-2538 (JEB). The Bellion case was brought by spirits company Bellion Spirits after the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) refused to approve a series of health claims advanced...
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TTB Publishes New Nonbeverage Product Formula Form
By T. Marshall Fawley III and McDermott Will & Emery on Aug 19, 2019
Posted In Alcohol Excise Taxes, Non-Beverage Alcohol, TTB COLAs and Formulas
On August 12, 2019, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) published its updated Formula and Process for Nonbeverage Product, TTB Form 5154.1. The Nonbeverage Product approval process is critical to obtain “drawback” (a refund) on most of the alcohol excise tax on distilled spirits used to make such products deemed “unfit for...
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Cannabis and Hemp Update
By Noah Feldman Greene and McDermott Will & Emery on Jul 29, 2019
Posted In Cannabis, Distribution, Food Safety and FDA, TTB COLAs and Formulas
Cannabis legalization receives widespread popular support. According to opinion polls, more than two-thirds of Americans support full legalization—a steep rise in support considering that as recently as 2005, almost two-thirds of Americans opposed legalization. The country appears on the path to full cannabis legalization, but until that time, citizens and companies should be aware of...
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Implications of the Supreme Court’s Tennessee Retailers Decision
By McDermott Will & Emery on Jul 8, 2019
Posted In Distribution, Trade Practices
As virtually everyone in the US alcohol beverage industry knows, last week the US Supreme Court handed down its opinion in Tennessee Wine and Spirits Retailers Assn. v. Thomas, S.Ct. No. 18-96 (June 26, 2019). Now that over a week has passed since the release of that decision, it’s time to reflect on what it...
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TTB Publishes NPRMs to Repeal Standards of Fill for Wine and Distilled Spirits
By McDermott Will & Emery on Jul 3, 2019
Posted In Alcohol Excise Taxes, TTB COLAs and Formulas
On Monday, July 1, 2019, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) published two eagerly anticipated notices of proposed rulemaking (NPRMs) to largely repeal the standards of fill for wine and distilled spirits containers. The highlights:
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