The Florida Alcohol Beverage Law: A Body of Law in Flux and Change

The U.S. government and each state have strict laws about selling and drinking alcohol. In Florida, these laws are called the Beverage Law. This law says that there must be separate companies that make, distribute, and sell alcohol. They often argue about what the law means and have spent a lot of money to make sure it stays the same. Without these rules, some companies could go out of business. Three lawsuits in Florida involving alcohol storage permits were taken to the courts after starting as petitions for declaratory statements. The cases focused on whether certain activities were allowed under the Beverage Law. Two cases involved a retailer using an off-premises storage permit, and trade associations of distributors intervened. The key proposition was that if an activity is not explicitly prohibited, it is likely permitted under the law. The OPS (off-premises storage) facilities for alcohol are regulated by Florida law. Vendors can have as many storage facilities as they want, as long as they are in the same county as the main business, and there is no fee for the permit. However, there are other types of licenses for selling alcohol, like the special license for food service establishments. The most valuable type of license is the quota license, which is limited in number and can be bought and sold. They have few restrictions and can be used at events outside of the main business location. A legal battle began when two businesses got into a dispute over the use of these different types of licenses. Martinibar, a popular nightclub in Miami, also does catering for big events, but they were only allowed to cater in Miami-Dade County, which made it hard and expensive to bring all the drinks and food to events in other parts of Florida. They filed a complaint to try and change the rule that restricted them to only catering in their own county. They argued that the rule didn’t follow the law and gave too much power to the agency that made the rule. The state agency DABT tried to expand the requirements for businesses that sell alcohol, but a court said they couldn’t do that. The court said that DABT can only make rules that are specifically allowed by the law, and the law doesn’t let them add county-based limits. The court also said that just because the law doesn’t say something is not allowed, that doesn’t mean it is allowed. Martinibar wanted to deliver alcohol to catered events outside of their home county, but some distributors said it was against the rules. They asked the state for permission, but a trade association for distributors disagreed. In the end, the state sided with the distributors, saying Martinibar couldn’t get alcohol delivered to catered events, even though they could sell it there if they could bring it themselves. The court ruled in favor of Martinibar, saying that the law doesn’t specifically prohibit distributors from delivering alcohol to catered events, so it’s allowed. Distributor trade associations were worried about technology changing alcohol laws. La Galere Market wanted to use special machines to sell alcohol in their mini-markets. They made sure only residents of the building could use the machines and checked their age and identity before selling alcohol. But the state agency said these machines were not allowed under the law. La Galere appealed the decision. The state agency and alcohol distributors said the law was meant to stop underage people from buying alcohol, and the machines weren’t allowed. DABT tried to stop Martinibar from using alcohol dispensing machines, but the court said that there’s nothing in the law that specifically says they can’t. In fact, the court ruled in favor of Martinibar in three different cases within four months. The court even made DABT pay Martinibar’s lawyer fees. It’s interesting to note that the Beer Industry of Florida and other alcohol associations always supported Martinibar in these cases. The alcohol beverage business and its regulations have changed very little in almost 100 years. State legislators, influenced by special interest groups, have kept a restrictive but profitable system in place. Lawsuits often end up in federal court, but historically, states have been protected by the 21st Amendment. This affects consumers’ choices and prices. In a world where cannabis is becoming legal, we need to ask if old alcohol laws still make sense. Technology will likely lead to more challenges for these laws. We’ll have to wait and see if the legislature and DABT will change the rules to fit the modern market, or if the courts will decide the future of Florida Beverage Law as the market changes.

Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/the-florida-alcohol-beverage-law-a-body-of-law-in-flux-and-change/