Minnesota retailer to stop selling alcohol in Ohio
One of the seven out-of-state companies accused of skirting Ohio’s liquor laws has agreed to stop selling wine and spirits in the Buckeye State.
According to a consent decree signed this week, Minnesota-based Ace Spirits said it will train its staff and put the appropriate systems in place to make sure it doesn’t sell alcohol in Ohio.
Ohio law bars out-of-state liquor and wine sellers from shipping products directly to consumers here, with limited exemptions for wine. Those companies must sell their products through licensed vendors such as retail stores or state liquor stores.
In August, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost filed an injunction against Ace and six other companies it accused of illegally shipping wine and liquor to Ohio consumers.
Shortly after the injunction was filed in August, Ace Spirits owner Chad Moe said his family bought the company only recently, and no longer sold alcohol in Ohio. Through its attorney, Jon Steckler, Ace Spirits on Wednesday denied breaking any Ohio laws.
"Ace did not and does not concede that it broke any laws," Steckler said in an email. "The current owners only recently purchased the business and its systems and ordering and shipping processes were in place — they inherited them. Ace has agreed to take steps to correct any such processes as necessary moving forward. "
Representatives of four of the seven companies targeted in the August injunction did not respond to messages seeking comment.
A spokesperson for Los Angelesbased Winc said the company follows the law through the use of an Ohio subsidiary, while a spokesperson for the
San Francisco-based Wine.com said the company is working with Yost to resolve the matter.
Following the August injunction, critics accused Yost of selectively enforcing laws that shield in-state companies from competitors in less-regulated states.
In a news release announcing the consent decree, Yost said he is protecting Ohio businesses from sellers who don't follow the laws laid out for instate businesses.
“It will make it much more difficult for Ohio liquor stores to survive if outside companies continue to unfairly skirt our laws,” he said. “The law is designed to provide a fair marketplace and local businesses should not be at a disadvantage for playing by the rules.”
Yost's injunction is believed to be one of the first enforcement actions taken under the 21st Amendment to the United States Constitution, which repealed the prohibition of alcohol, but gave states the right to ban the import of alcohol from other states.
A Yost spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the cases against the other six companies. pcooley@dispatch.com @Patrickacooley