Experienced And Knowledgeable With Both The Alcohol beverage Industry And The Law
The saga continues in the lawsuit between New York’s Empire Merchants and Breakthru Beverage. In our blog on September 21, 2016, we had reported that Empire Merchants filed federal fraud charges against a long list of defendants including, Breakthru, Reliable Churchill, and several Maryland retailers. Empire had alleged through its complaint that from 2009 to 2016, the defendants collectively conspired…
On Tuesday February 7th a group of Plaintiffs brought a suit against Anheuser-Busch LLC in the Ninth Circuit Court arguing that the brewer’s use of the term “light” on the labeling of the Lime-A-Rita packaging was misleading to consumers as being a lighter alternative alcohol beverage. Since Bud Light is known to be lighter in calories than a regular Budweiser, the…
According to Law360, Tiger Paw Distributors LLC, et. al. “may sell booze containing titles of [Jimmy] Hendrix’s songs such as ‘Purple Haze’ and ‘Voodoo Child’ and may include references on the bottles’ labels to Hendrix, but the references must have a relatively smaller typeface and may not infer any endorsement, sponsorship or affiliation with the guitarist’s estate,” as ordered by a Georgia U.S.…
CBS’s 60 Minutes aired a segment regarding the Bacardi vs. Pernod Ricard fight over Havana Club. See it here. Bacardi’s Havana Club (made in Puerto Rico) Pernod Ricard’s Havana Club
According to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), it accepted a $750,000 offer in compromise from Craft Beer Guild, A MASS. distributor, for trade practice violations. The TTB said, “this is the largest offer in compromise that TTB has recovered from a single industry member for trade practice violations.” The offer in compromise is related to the…
A complaint was filed September 20, 2016, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York involving two of the larger wine and spirit distributors in New York and Maryland. The Plaintiff, Empire Merchants LLC (“Empire”), part of the Charmer Sunbelt group, is suing its Maryland distributorship, Reliable Churchill LLLP, as well as, Breakthru Beverage’s co-chairman…
Many craft brands — whether it be beer, wine or spirits — look to become a part of the community and establish their local roots by naming the brand after where it’s based. The examples are endless, including Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn Gin, St. Augustine Distillery, Kings County Distillery, etc. Many of the issues with trademark applications in 2015 were related…
Today the TTB announced acceptance of a $450,000 offer in compromise from MillerCoors for trade practice violations. The allegations are that MillerCoors’ Miller Fortune had a buy back program where MillerCoors guaranteed participating wholesalers that it would buy back product that went unsold or expired if, in return, the wholesaler fulfilled certain standards. According to the TTB press release, that…
Sales of “craft spirits” are up. In fact, sales of American “craft spirits” were up 50% last year, according to GuestMetrics. But what exactly is a “craft spirit”? I provide an analysis and offer explanations from various industry members in the February 2015 issue of Beverage Media.
Most of us in the alcohol beverage industry are well aware of the recent litigation affecting various craft distillers around the country. There are at least three pending cases against Tito’s Vodka alone, in California, Florida and Illinois. In addition, there are cases against Templeton Rye, Angel’s Envy and Tincup whiskey. The basis of all of these complaints is alleged…
