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WINE M AR K E T ING not to follow Leegin (such as Maryland) may choose to not include this language in their written agreements for those states lest it be construed as an agreement between the producer and the distributor to maintain a minimum price. Other laws in addition to anti-trust laws Distributors often push back by arguing that refusing to deal with a particular retailer runs afoul of alcoholic beverage laws in some states that prohibit discrimination among retailers by a supplier. Our response is that the resale policy should make clear it applies across the board to all retailers and is thus a uniform and non-discriminatory policy. Moreover, many of the retailer practices specified as harmful in a producer's resale policy, such as below-cost pricing, are illegal under many states' laws, including California's, which further supports the legality of the producer's policy. PWV any article or any commodity or any article of trade, use, merchandise, commerce or consumption below a common standard figure, or fixed value." CA Bus. & Prof. Code §16720(e)(1). 4. United States v. Colgate & Co., 250 U.S. 300 (1919). 5. In California, cost is defined as the cost of purchasing the product plus the cost of doing business, which is presumed to be 6% in the absence of any other proof of the cost of doing business. See CA Bus. & Prof. Code §§17026, 17030, 17043, 17044. 6. "Bait-and-switch" is an industry term for selling a product at less than cost "[w]here the purpose is to induce, pro ote or m encourage the purchase of other merchandise," is also illegal under California law. CA Bus. & Prof. Code §17030(a). The viewpoints expressed in this article are the opinion of the writer, are provided for educational and informational use only and are not to be construed as legal advice. If you need legal advice, please consult with your counsel. End Notes 1. Leegin Creative Leather Products Inc. v. PSKS Inc., 551 U.S. 877 (2007). 2.See, e.g., California v. ARC America Corp., 490 U.S. 93 (1989). 3. California's Business & Professions Code §16726 makes any trust unlawful. A "trust" includes an agreement in which the parties "[b]ind themselves not to sell, dispose of or transport Excellence in every glass High performance diagnostics kits and analysers for the wine industry E enquiries@randoxfooddiagnostics.com pr actica l win ery & vin eya r d F EB RUARY 20 14 67