High Court Rejects 2 More Retailer DtC Cases

With two cases – one from Indiana, the other from Arizona – the U.S. Supreme Court almost completed building a nationwide fortress of cases where bev/al retailers unsuccessfully sought to invalidate the three-tier system.

Apparently they and their advocates just have gotten the message that "The three tier system is unquestionably legitimate.” That phrase, of course, comes from Granholm v. Heald, in which the court held states could not discriminate against out-of-state wineries in their direct-to-consumer (DTC) shipping laws.

There is one sliver of hope left from retail DtC advocates: a 6th Circuit case involving Ohio's retailer DtC prohibition. Most observers aren't expecting that case to be successful, either, which leaves legislation – at either the state or federal level – the only remaining option.