McCormick & Co. v. Brown

Background

A group of out-of-state manufacturers and wholesale dealers sued West Virginia officers to stop a state rule that they must obtain a state permit and pay a $50 annual license before shipping alcohol-containing medicines, foodstuffs, and toilet articles into West Virginia for resale. The companies said their products were covered by federal permits under the National Prohibition Act and were intended only for medicinal, mechanical, toilet, or culinary uses. West Virginia officials replied that the state law and the prohibition commissioner’s regulations classified these products as “liquors” and required state permits. A three-judge federal court denied an injunction and dismissed the complaint, and the companies appealed.

Reasoning

The Court framed the issue as whether the State could lawfully demand its own permits for these interstate shipments. It concluded the products fell within West Virginia’s statutory definition of “liquors” and that the commissioner’s regulations were within statutory authority. The Court explained that the Webb-Kenyon Act was intended to prevent interstate commerce from being used to evade state prohibition laws, and that the later National Prohibition Act and federal permits did not repeal or limit Webb-Kenyon. Because state and federal law can operate concurrently to enforce prohibition, federal permits did not automatically bar the State from imposing its own permit and fee requirements.

Real world impact

The result means out-of-state manufacturers and wholesalers who ship alcohol-containing preparations into a State for resale can be required to obtain state permits and pay state fees, even if they hold federal permits. The Court left factual questions about particular products’ potability aside but affirmed that states may use administrative control to enforce their prohibition laws. The decree dismissing the companies’ bill was affirmed.