The years-long legal battle between members of the Sheehan family over their eponymous multi-state distributor officially ended today in Massachusetts Superior Court when all parties agreed to dismiss the case with prejudice.
Heineken-owned Lagunitas Brewing has named Tony Amaral head of sales, following the departure of Tom McReavy, who formerly led the Petaluma, California-based craft brewery’s sales division before taking the top sales role at Stone Brewing last month.
Under the new county order, breweries, wineries and craft distilleries may open for indoor service capped at 25% capacity if all alcohol sales are accompanied by bona fide meals, which can be provided in partnership with a food vendor. Businesses without food service may offer outdoor on-site service.
Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers is attempting to sever its relationship with Atlantic Beverage Distributors, its Massachusetts wholesaler. The Framingham, Massachusetts-based craft brewery provided Atlantic with notice on January 14, two days after franchise law reform was enacted in the state.
Grupo Modelo, the Mexican business division of Anheuser-Busch InBev, has filed a lawsuit against Constellation Brands, alleging that the company is “misusing and misappropriating” the Corona trademark with Corona Hard Seltzer.
VPX Pharmaceuticals took its legal battle against PepsiCo to a second front this week as VPX-aligned company Quash Seltzer LLC filed a lawsuit alleging the conglomerate has threatened its prospective distribution partners out of doing business.
A dispute in one of the most prominent families in the beer industry — the Massachusetts-based Sheehans, owners of Sheehan Family Companies, which operates beer wholesalers in 13 states and Washington, D.C. — has spilled into the court system. Timothy G. Sheehan and George L. Cushing, a trustee who represents trusts that benefit Tim Sheehan and his brother John T. Sheehan, filed a civil lawsuit in Massachusetts’ Suffolk Superior Court alleging that the patriarch and matriarch of the family, Gerald (“Jerry”) and Maureen Sheehan, have violated their fiduciary duties and misappropriated company funds.
The California Craft Brewers Association (CCBA) has filed a lawsuit against Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) director Sandra Shewry alleging that the state has infringed upon the constitutional rights and denied the state’s beer manufacturers equal protection by requiring them to serve a meal to guests in order to operate their tasting rooms while not imposing the same restrictions upon the state’s winemakers.
Despite claims by Vital Pharmaceuticals/VPX Sports boss Jack Owoc that “terminated means terminated,” PepsiCo can continue to distribute Bang energy drinks until the completion of ongoing dispute between the two parties, according to an emergency arbitration ruling issued on Monday.
Miami-based Biscayne Bay Brewing has filed a lawsuit against La Tropical Holdings B.V. and Cerveceria La Tropical USA LLC, alleging that they and their parent companies, Heineken N.V. and Heineken USA, have no basis for their claims of trademark infringement. Those claims, the company alleged, cost Biscayne Bay a commercial relationship with Major League Soccer franchise, team Inter Miami CF.
Buellton, California-based Figueroa Mountain Brewery has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in order to take on new investment from New York-based private equity firm Creekstone LLC.
Bell’s Brewery’s portfolio will be excluded from the sale of Indianapolis-headquartered Monarch Beverages to the Reyes Beer Division, after the Comstock, Michigan-based regional craft brewer informed its distributors last year it would not allow its brands to be sold to certain successors.
A proposed class-action lawsuit alleges that Anheuser-Busch InBev is deceiving consumers by positioning its Veza Sur brewery in Miami as a craft brewery.
The lawsuit filed by French agri-business cooperative Agrial Group against Seattle Cider Company and Two Beers Brewing Company founder Joel VandenBrink has been settled.
Citing what he called a “coordinated harassment campaign,” Stone Brewing co-founder Greg Koch took to his brewery’s blog earlier this week to address a trademark dispute with Morehead, Kentucky-based Sawstone Brewing.
