Indiana Wine Retailer Direct-to-Consumer Shipping Court Decision

Sovos
December 4, 2018

On November 28, 2018, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling in Lebamoff v. Rauner, reversing a lower court grant to dismiss the case. It involves an action by an Indiana wine retailer to challenge a law in Illinois that permitted in-state retailers to ship wine to any Illinois resident, while prohibiting out-of-state retailers from doing the same. In its ruling, the 7th Circuit disagreed with the determination by the Northern District of Illinois that the 2005 Supreme Court case, Granholm v. Heald, limited its anti-discriminatory principles only to suppliers of alcohol (e.g. wineries) but not to alcohol retailers. The decision also put the Court at odds with past determinations by other US circuit courts that Granholm was limited only to suppliers, setting up a divide among the nation’s top courts. This comes as the Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments in Tennessee Wine & Spirits Retailers Ass’n v. Byrd; those arguments are scheduled for January 16, 2019. 

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Sovos

Sovos is a global provider of tax, compliance and trust solutions and services that enable businesses to navigate an increasingly regulated world with true confidence. Purpose-built for always-on compliance capabilities, our scalable IT-driven solutions meet the demands of an evolving and complex global regulatory landscape. Sovos’ cloud-based software platform provides an unparalleled level of integration with business applications and government compliance processes. More than 100,000 customers in 100+ countries – including half the Fortune 500 – trust Sovos for their compliance needs. Sovos annually processes more than three billion transactions across 19,000 global tax jurisdictions. Bolstered by a robust partner program more than 400 strong, Sovos brings to bear an unrivaled global network for companies across industries and geographies. Founded in 1979, Sovos has operations across the Americas and Europe, and is owned by Hg and TA Associates.
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