Beer Distributor Drops $34 Million Case Against Constellation

A Massachusetts beer distributor agreed Wednesday to drop its $34 million suit against a leading beer retailer over an alleged breach in contract that prevented the sale of its assets to a qualified buyer.

Quality Beverage Limited Partnership, an alcohol distributor of brands owned by major brewers including Anheuser-Busch, and Crown Imports LLC, a division of beer giant Constellation Brands Inc., filed a joint stipulation to dismiss the case in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

The distributor had accused Constellation Brands of violating a contractual agreement requiring it to consent to a change in ownership ...