Liquor Distiller Sues California Over Booze Delivery Rules

Two Los Angeles-area liquor collectors and a Tennessee independent distiller are suing California over rules that ban direct-to-consumer shipping from out-of-state alcohol producers.

The plaintiffs claim the state is violating the US Constitution’s commerce clause through a discriminatory licensing regime. California’s Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control allows in-state craft distillers to deliver across the state but bars consumers from ordering directly from out-of-state producers, stopping aficionados from accessing limited-edition runs of booze crafted across the country.

The system also illegally cuts into the sales of small out-of-state distillers, East Tennessee Distillery said in the complaint filed Thursday in the US ...