An appeal over out-of-state liquor shipments to consumers in the state of Michigan has been won, meaning that retailers based outside of the state of Michigan can no longer send alcohol directly to the state’s consumers.
The appeal overturns a decision by a federal judge in Detroit, who at one point referred to Michigan’s restrictions as an “unjustifiable protectionist regime," according to Abc12News.
Michigan had argued that in-state retailers would be undercut by their out-of-state rivals who could avoid the state’s three-tier distribution system.
“Michigan’s law promotes plenty of legitimate state interests, and any limits on a free market of alcohol distribution flow from the kinds of traditional regulations that characterize this market, not state protectionism,” Judge Jeffrey Sutton said in a 3-0 opinion released on April 25, according to WLIX10.
The lawsuit was filed by Lebamoff Enterprises, which operates Cap n’ Cork stores in the Fort Wayne, Indiana, area.
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