Bethany Hatef

Bethany (Beth) K. Hatef advises clients on a wide variety of regulatory and distribution issues in the alcohol beverage industry. Beth regularly counsels alcohol industry clients on federal and state requirements relating to the production, marketing, distribution and sale of beer, wine and spirits. Read Beth Hatef's full bio.

Firm/Organization: McDermott Will & Emery

Blogs: Alcohol Law Advisor, Employee Benefits Blog, Energy Business Law

Latest Articles

Alcohol Law Advisor

The Future of Direct Shipping

By Marc Sorini & Bethany Hatef on March 25, 2019

In September 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a petition for a writ of certiorari brought before the Court by the Tennessee Retailers in Tennessee Wine and Spirits Retailers Association v. Byrd. The petition requested that the Court review the lower court’s decision upholding a finding that Tennessee’s two-year residency requirement for retail license applicants is unconstitutional. Specifically, the question Tennessee retailers posed to the Court is whether the 21st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution…

Alcohol Law Advisor

A New Supreme Court Case May Impact the Future of Spirits Direct Shipping

By Marc Sorini & Bethany Hatef on December 10, 2018

In late September 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a petition for a writ of certiorari (i.e. the Court agreed to hear a case) brought before the Court by the Tennessee Wine and Spirits Retailers Association (Tennessee Retailers) in Tennessee Wine and Spirits Retailers Association v. Byrd. The petition requested that the Court review the lower court’s decision upholding a finding that Tennessee’s two-year residency requirement for retail license applicants is unconstitutional. Specifically, the question…

Alcohol Law Advisor

An Intro to Distribution Agreements

By Bethany Hatef on July 3, 2018

As a craft distiller, getting your products into the hands of consumers is, of course, critical to your business. As a general matter, state alcohol laws separate the alcohol beverage industry into three tiers (i.e., the three-tier system): the supplier tier, the wholesaler tier, and the retailer tier. To get its product to market, a supplier typically must sell to a wholesaler, which then must sell to a retailer. Of course, state laws today contain…

Alcohol Law Advisor

TTB Announces Extension of Tax Credits for Wines Stored at Bonded Wine Cellars and Bonded Wineries

By Bethany Hatef on May 21, 2018

On May 17, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) issued an Industry Circular, No. 2018-1A, clarifying that under the recently-enacted tax reform legislation (Tax Act), wineries may tax determine and tax pay wine they produce and that is stored untaxpaid at another bonded wine cellar or bonded winery as if the wine were removed from the producing winery’s bonded premises. Among the Tax Act’s many changes to the Internal Revenue Code,…

Alcohol Law Advisor

Federal District Court Rejects Craft Brewers’ Equal Protection and Due Process Challenge of Texas’ Ban on Brewer Off-Premises Retailing

By Marc Sorini & Bethany Hatef on March 26, 2018

On March 20, 2018, a federal district court in Texas issued an opinion in Deep Ellum Brewing, LLC, et al. v. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. The court delivered a blow to Texas craft brewers, upholding Texas’ prohibition on sales of beer by brewers to consumers for off-premises consumption. Texas authorizes the manufacture and sale of beer by persons holding a: (1) brewer’s permit (allowing the production of beer of more than 4% alcohol by weight…

Alcohol Law Advisor

Massachusetts Court Upholds Record $2.6M Fine against Beer Distributor

By Bethany Hatef on October 23, 2017

Earlier this month, a Massachusetts state trial court judge issued a decision in the matter of Craft Beer Guild LLC d/b/a Craft Brewers Guild v. Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission. The court upheld a decision by the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC) finding violations of Massachusetts’ trade practice laws by a large beer distributor. The case originated in the Fall of 2014, when a craft brewer alleged on Twitter that a Boston retailer had removed the…

Alcohol Law Advisor

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau Announces Joint Operation Targeting Alleged “Pay-to-Play” Activities in Florida

By Bethany Hatef on July 25, 2017

On July 20, 2017, the Federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) announced a joint operation it conducted with the Florida Department of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco (DABT) to investigate potential trade practice violations in the Miami, Florida area. According to a very brief press release issued by TTB, the investigation focused on alleged “pay-to-play” schemes. “Pay-to-play” is an industry term generally used to mean the provision of payments or other “things of…

Alcohol Law Advisor

Approaches to Spirits Direct Shipping

By Marc Sorini & Bethany Hatef on July 6, 2017

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales of alcohol beverages have been a hot topic in the alcohol industry for the last two decades. The wine direct-shipping landscape has changed greatly over the past 15 or so years, most dramatically by the US Supreme Court’s decision in Granholm v. Heald. Today nearly evert state—plus the District of Columbia—allows wineries to ship wine across state lines directly to in-state consumers. The same cannot be said for spirits. There are, however,…

Alcohol Law Advisor

Texas Supreme Court Weighs In on Tied House

By Bethany Hatef on May 8, 2017

Late last month, the Texas Supreme Court issued a ruling in Cadena Comercial USA Corp. d/b/a OXXO v. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, finding in favor of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) and weighing in for the first time on the application of Texas’ tied house law. In a 6-2 decision, the court upheld the TABC’s denial of a retail permit to a foreign corporation whose parent company also holds a 20 percent ownership interest…

Alcohol Law Advisor

Trump Administration Indicates Plans to Increase Enforcement of Recreational Marijuana Laws

By Bethany Hatef on February 27, 2017

To follow up on our prediction last month that the Trump Administration may take a more aggressive stance toward the legalization of marijuana, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer stated during the February 23 daily briefing that he anticipates greater federal enforcement of marijuana laws. Spicer emphasized the distinction between medical marijuana (the legalization of which President Trump does not oppose) and recreational marijuana. In discussing the latter, Spicer invoked the country’s opioid addiction crisis,…

Bethany Hatef

The Future of Direct Shipping

A New Supreme Court Case May Impact the Future of Spirits Direct Shipping

An Intro to Distribution Agreements

TTB Announces Extension of Tax Credits for Wines Stored at Bonded Wine Cellars and Bonded Wineries

Federal District Court Rejects Craft Brewers’ Equal Protection and Due Process Challenge of Texas’ Ban on Brewer Off-Premises Retailing

Massachusetts Court Upholds Record $2.6M Fine against Beer Distributor

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau Announces Joint Operation Targeting Alleged “Pay-to-Play” Activities in Florida

Approaches to Spirits Direct Shipping

Texas Supreme Court Weighs In on Tied House

Trump Administration Indicates Plans to Increase Enforcement of Recreational Marijuana Laws

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