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The bulk of a lawsuit against the Illinois Liquor
Control Commission, brought by an Italian winemaker last summer, was
recently dismissed. Two of four counts were dismissed with prejudice on
May 8; the remaining two were also stricken, according to Sangamon County
Circuit Court records. Villa Monteleone Winery, however, has a month to
file an amended plea. In its complaint, the winery accused the state of
illegally giving preferential treatment to Illinois-based vintners by
forcing wineries outside the state to sell only through distributors, which
costs more [See Bruce Rushton, “Grape expectations,” June 29,
2006]. Because Villa Monteleone requested that Illinois
wineries also be required to go through distributors to even the playing
field, some speculated that the liquor distributors were in fact behind the
lawsuit. “Our chief legal counsel says he can’t
discuss pending litigation,” says Ted Penesis, spokesman for the
state liquor control commission. “I can tell you that part of their claim was
dismissed and they will need to amend the other part, so nothing has been
decided yet.”
Villa Monteleone’s lawyer, former U.S. Attorney
J. William Roberts, was unavailable for comment.
Contact R.L. Nave rnave@illinoistimes.com
This article appears in May 10-16, 2007.
