Lebamoff Enterprises, Inc. v. Snow

757 F. Supp. 2d 811, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 129246, 2010 WL 5057460
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Indiana
DecidedDecember 6, 2010
Docket1:09-cv-00744
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 757 F. Supp. 2d 811 (Lebamoff Enterprises, Inc. v. Snow) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lebamoff Enterprises, Inc. v. Snow, 757 F. Supp. 2d 811, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 129246, 2010 WL 5057460 (S.D. Ind. 2010).

Opinion

ORDER

JANE MAGNUS-STINSON, District Judge.

Indiana law permits a wine dealer to make off-premises deliveries of wine to a location designated by a customer only if the delivery is made by the dealer itself or a dealer’s employee who holds an employee permit. Ind.Code § 7.1-3-15-3(d). Plaintiffs Lebamoff Enterprises, Inc. d/b/a Cap N’ Cork, is a Fort Wayne, Indiana wine dealer that would prefer to make off-premises deliveries through a common carrier rather than through its permitted employees. Randy Lewandowski, and Luther Stroder are wine consumers who live in the Indianapolis area, who do not want to travel to Fort Wayne to pick up wine at Cap N’ Cork, and who would prefer to have it delivered directly. The Plaintiffs will be referred to collectively “Cap N’ Cork” as none makes any unique argument. Cap N’ Cork claims the Indiana law at issue is both unconstitutional and preempted by federal statute.

Presently before the Court are Cross-Motions for Summary Judgment filed by Cap N’ Cork and Defendant P. Thomas Snow, in his official Capacity as Chairman of the Indiana Alcohol & Tobacco Commission (“ATC”).

I.

Standard of Review on Motion for Summary Judgment

A motion for summary judgment asks that the Court find that a trial based on the uncontroverted and admissible evidence would — as a matter of law — conclude in the moving party’s favor and is thus unnecessary. See Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 56(c). When evaluating a motion for summary judgment, the Court must give the non-moving party the benefit of all reasonable inferences from the evidence submitted and resolve “any doubt as to the existence of a genuine issue for trial ... against the moving party.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 330 n. 2, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). Nevertheless, “the Court’s favor toward the non-moving party does not extend to drawing inferences that are supported by only speculation or conjecture.” Singer v. Raemisch, 593 F.3d 529, 533 (7th Cir.2010). The non-moving party must set *814 forth specific facts showing that there is a material issue for trial and cannot rely upon the mere allegations or denials in the pleadings. Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 56(e); Celotex, 477 U.S. at 317, 106 S.Ct. 2548. Moreover, the non-moving party must do more than just demonstrate a factual disagreement between the parties; it must demonstrate that the disputed factual issue is “material.” Outlaw v. Newkirk, 259 F.3d 833, 837 (7th Cir.2001). The key inquiry is the existence of evidence to support a plaintiffs claims or affirmative defenses, not the weight or credibility of that evidence, both of which are assessments reserved to the trier of fact. See Schacht v. Wis. Dep’t of Corrections, 175 F.3d 497, 504 (7th Cir.1999).

Cross-motions for summary judgment do not automatically mean that all questions of material fact have been resolved. Franklin v. City of Evanston, 384 F.3d 838, 842 (7th Cir.2004). The Court must evaluate each motion independently, making all reasonable inferences in favor of the nonmoving party with respect to each motion. Id. at 843.

After having assessed the claims of the parties in accordance with the standards outlined above, the Court concludes that ATC is entitled to summary judgment on both counts. There-fore, in what follows, the Court makes all reasonable factual inferences in favor of Cap N’ Cork. See Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 56(c).

II.

Background

A) Indiana’s Three-Tier System of Wine Distribution

Indiana, like many states, has chosen to regulate the distribution of wine within its borders by requiring that producers sell exclusively to permitted wholesalers who, in turn, may sell only to permitted retailers. See generally Ind.Code §§ 7.1-3 et seq. This is a nationally recognized scheme known as “the three-tier system.” In the three-tier system, the chain of commerce begins at the winery and ends with the consumer. First, the winery, which can be in-state or out-of-state, receives the order — either through direct purchases from customers, through solicitation of business from fulfillment companies, or through retail entities such as Cap N’ Cork that place orders on behalf of customers. [/&]

When the fulfillment process is in play, the wine is pre-packaged and pre-addressed by the winery. [Dkt. 18-3 at 1-2.] Second, the winery ships the wine to an Indiana wholesaler. Third, the wholesaler transfers the wine to an Indiana retailer (permitted as a wine dealer) — here, Cap N’ Cork — for eventual delivery to the Indiana consumer. [Dkt. 17 at 2.] Within this framework, consumers may purchase wine for off-premises consumption only from permitted retailers and may do so only in face-to-face transactions.

In accordance with the three-tier system, any wine retailer within Indiana’s borders must obtain a “wine dealer permit.” Ind.Code § 7.1-3-15-1. Holders of wine dealer permits are allowed to make off-premise deliveries of up to three cases of wine per transaction, but only if the face-to-face requirement of the three-tier system is met. To meet the face-to-face requirement, a retailer must have a delivery permit and use its own employee to deliver the alcohol to consumers within Indiana:

[A] wine dealer ... may deliver wine ... to a customer’s residence, office, or designated location ... by the permit holder or an employee who holds an employee permit. The permit holder shall maintain a written record of each delivery for at least one (1) year that *815 shows the customer’s name, location of delivery, and quantity sold.

Ind.Code § 7.1-3-15-3(d).

Wine dealers, or wine dealer employees who have employee permits, are required to receive server training pursuant to Indiana Code § 7.1-3-1.5-4.3. Server training is designed to educate employees on the selling, serving, and consumption of alcoholic beverages, with an emphasis on preventing the distribution of alcohol to minors. Ind.Code § 7.1-3-1.5-4.3. Such training is required to include methods for properly and effectively:

(i) checking the identification of an individual;

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
757 F. Supp. 2d 811, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 129246, 2010 WL 5057460, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lebamoff-enterprises-inc-v-snow-insd-2010.