Justices Tackle ‘Unicorn’ of Texas Law in Liquor Permit Question

Some Texas Supreme Court justices seemed doubtful Thursday of an argument that liquor license holders exempt from a state law barring public corporations from having a liquor permit get to keep their license when they are bought by another public corporation.

One justice called litigant Gabriel Investment Group Inc. a “unicorn,” and others spun up hypothetical situations to test the parties’ theories of law compared to what the legislature intended in writing that exemption into the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code.

In Texas, a “package store permit” is necessary to sell distilled spirits to retail customers to drink off-premises. The Texas ...