Sec. 30-17. Wholesaler permit. Termination or diminishment of distributorship.
Sec. 30-17. Wholesaler permit. Termination or diminishment of distributorship. (a) (1) A wholesaler permit shall allow the bottling of alcoholic liquor and the
wholesale sale of alcoholic liquor to permittees in this state and without the state, as
may be permitted by law, and the sale of alcoholic liquors to vessels engaged in coastwise
or foreign commerce, and the sale of alcohol and alcoholic liquor for industrial purposes
to nonpermittees, such sales to be made in accordance with the regulations adopted by
the Department of Consumer Protection, and the sale of alcohol and alcoholic liquor
for medicinal purposes to hospitals and charitable institutions and to religious organizations for sacramental purposes and the receipt from out-of-state shippers of multiple
packages of alcoholic liquor. The holder of a wholesaler permit may apply for and shall
thereupon receive an out-of-state shipper's permit for direct importation from abroad
of alcoholic liquors manufactured outside the United States and an out-of-state shipper's
permit for direct importation from abroad of beer manufactured outside the United
States. The annual fee for a wholesaler permit shall be two thousand four hundred dollars.
(2) When a holder of a wholesaler permit has had the distributorship of any alcohol,
beer, spirits or wine product of a manufacturer or out-of-state shipper for six months or
more, such distributorship may be terminated or its geographic territory diminished
upon (A) the execution of a written stipulation by the wholesaler and manufacturer or
out-of-state shipper agreeing to the change and the approval of such change by the
Department of Consumer Protection; or (B) the sending of a written notice by registered
mail, return receipt requested, by the manufacturer or out-of-state shipper to the wholesaler, a copy of which notice has been sent simultaneously by registered mail, return
receipt requested, to the Department of Consumer Protection. No such termination or
diminishment shall become effective except for just and sufficient cause, provided such
cause shall be set forth in such notice and the Department of Consumer Protection shall
determine, after hearing, that just and sufficient cause exists. If an emergency occurs,
caused by the wholesaler, prior to such hearing, which threatens the manufacturers' or
out-of-state shippers' products or otherwise endangers the business of the manufacturer
or out-of-state shipper and said emergency is established to the satisfaction of the Department of Consumer Protection, the department may temporarily suspend such wholesaler
permit or take whatever reasonable action the department deems advisable to provide
for such emergency and the department may continue such temporary action until its
decision after a full hearing. The Department of Consumer Protection shall render its
decision with reasonable promptness following such hearing. Notwithstanding the
aforesaid, a manufacturer or out-of-state shipper may appoint one or more additional
wholesalers as the distributor for an alcohol, spirits or wine product within such territory,
provided such appointment shall not be effective until six months from the date such
manufacturer or out-of-state shipper sets forth such intention in written notice to the
existing wholesaler by registered mail, return receipt requested, with a copy of such
notice simultaneously sent by registered mail, return receipt requested, to the Department of Consumer Protection. For just and sufficient cause, a manufacturer or out-of-state shipper may appoint one or more additional wholesalers as the distributor for a
beer product within such territory provided such manufacturer or out-of-state shipper
sets forth such intention and cause in written notice to the existing wholesaler by registered mail, return receipt requested, with a copy of such notice simultaneously sent by
registered mail, return receipt requested, to the Department of Consumer Protection.
For the purposes of this section, "just and sufficient cause" means the existence of
circumstances which, in the opinion of a reasonable person considering all of the equities
of both the wholesaler and the manufacturer or out-of-state shipper warrants a termination or a diminishment of a distributorship as the case may be. For the purposes of this
section, "manufacturer or out-of-state shipper" means the manufacturer or out-of-state
shipper who originally granted a distributorship of any alcohol, beer, spirits or wine
product to a wholesaler, any successor to such manufacturer or out-of-state shipper,
which successor has assumed the contractual relationship with such wholesaler by assignment or otherwise, or any other manufacturer or out-of-state shipper who acquires
the right to ship such alcohol, beer, spirits or wine into the state.
(3) Nothing contained herein shall be construed to interfere with the authority of
the Department of Consumer Protection to retain or adopt reasonable regulations concerning the termination or diminishment of a distributorship held by a wholesaler for
less than six months.
(4) All hearings held hereunder shall be held in accordance with the provisions of
chapter 54.
(b) A wholesaler permit for beer shall be in all respects the same as a wholesaler
permit, except that the scope of operations of the holder shall be limited to beer; but
shall not prohibit the handling of nonalcoholic merchandise. The holder of a wholesaler
permit for beer may apply for and shall thereupon receive an out-of-state shipper's permit
for direct importation from abroad of beer manufactured outside the United States. The
annual fee for a wholesaler permit for beer shall be eight hundred dollars.
(1949 Rev., S. 4239; 1955, S. 2156d; 1971, P.A. 605, S. 1; 747, S. 1; 1972, P.A. 95, S. 1; P.A. 73-230; P.A. 75-186,
S. 1, 3; 75-641, S. 3; P.A. 77-373; 77-614, S. 165, 587, 610; P.A. 78-303, S. 80, 85, 136; P.A. 79-131, S. 1, 2; P.A. 80-482, S. 4, 170, 191, 345, 348; P.A. 81-367, S. 2, 9; P.A. 84-432, S. 2, 3; P.A. 86-57, S. 1, 2; P.A. 93-139, S. 11; P.A. 95-161, S. 6, 9; 95-195, S. 21, 83; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 146(d); P.A. 04-169, S. 17; 04-189, S. 1.)
History: 1971 acts added Subsec. (1)(B) and (C) re termination of distributorship of products and diminishment of
territories and specified that wholesaler permit allows "the receipt from out-of-state shippers of multiple packages of still
wines and sparkling wines"; 1972 act specified products distributed in Subsec. (1)(B) as alcohol, beer, spirits or wine and
added provisions re appointment of successor distributors; P.A. 73-230 made technical correction; P.A. 75-186 substituted
"beer" for "malt beverages" in Subsec. (1); P.A. 75-641 changed manner of designating subsections, subdivisions, etc. for
consistency with other statutes; P.A. 77-373 deleted word "beer" (added by P.A. 73-230) in provision re appointment of
successor distributor; P.A. 77-614 replaced liquor control commission with division of liquor control within the department
of business regulation, except as later limited by P.A. 78-303, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 79-131 deleted provision
which had stated that termination of distributorship or diminishment of territory is effective not earlier than one year from
date of notice unless there is just and sufficient cause for imposing an earlier date, defined meaning of just and sufficient
cause for purposes of section and changed effective date of successor distributor's powers (previously 90 days after notice),
distinguishing between alcohol, spirits or wine products and beer; P.A. 80-482 made division of liquor control an independent department and abolished the department of business regulation, overriding provision of same act which would have
placed the division within the public safety department; P.A. 81-367 amended Subsec. (a) to provide that termination or
diminishment of a wholesaler's distributorship may be effected only for just and sufficient cause if the wholesaler has had
the distributorship for 6 months or more where prior law extended this protection only after 24 months, and to provide that
the 6-month time period applies to the successors or assigns of a manufacturer or out-of-state shipper; P.A. 84-432 amended
Subsec. (a) by specifying the conditions under which a manufacturer or out-of-state shipper might appoint an additional
wholesaler as a distributor of beer, and by adding Subdiv. (4) requiring hearings to be held in accordance with chapter 54;
P.A. 86-57 amended Subsec. (a) to add definition of "manufacturer or out-of-state shipper"; P.A. 93-139 made technical
changes and added the annual fee for each wholesaler permit; P.A. 95-161 amended Subsec. (a) to change the type of
alcohol that can be received from an out-of-state shipper from still and sparkling wines to alcoholic liquor, effective June
27, 1995; P.A. 95-195 substituted Department of Consumer Protection for Department of Liquor Control, effective July
1, 1995; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 and P.A. 04-169 replaced Department of Consumer Protection with Department of
Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 04-189 repealed Sec. 146 of June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, thereby reversing the merger of the Departments of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective June 1, 2004.
See Sec. 30-38 re storage facilities for liquor.
Cited. 148 C. 652. Cited. 177 C. 616. Cited. 184 C. 75. Statute, as amended by P.A. 81-367, effective May 29, 1981,
applies to dealerships in existence at the time amendment became effective. 194 C. 165. Cited. 213 C. 184.
Subsec. (a):
Subdiv. (2) cited. 202 C. 405. Subdiv. (2)(B) cited. 208 C. 187.