NJ Wineries Claim Sour Grapes By Federal Appeals Court Ruling
In Freeman v. Corzine (United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Nos. 08-3268 and 08-3302, December 2010), the plaintiffs – two New Jersey wine enthusiasts, a New Jersey couple seeking access to more Kosher wines, and a California winery – brought suit in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey against Jerry Fischer, New Jersey’s Director of Alcoholic Beverage Control, alleging that several aspects of New Jersey’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Law (“ABC Law”) infringe on the dormant Commerce Clause in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The suit challenged the constitutionality of parts of New Jersey’s alcohol beverage control laws permitting certain New Jersey farmers and wineries to bypass wholesalers and sell directly to retailers and consumers. Currently, out-of-state wineries must exclusively go through wholesale distributors to sell their products in New Jersey, but in-state vineyards can sell to customers directly in on-site tast...