Anheuser-Busch, Inc. v. Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission

The plaintiffs, Anheuser-Busch, Inc. (AB), and August A. Busch & Company of Massachusetts, Inc. (AB MA), appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court affirming a decision of the defendant, Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (Commission). The Commission cancelled the wholesaler’s license of AB MA to sell unlimited kinds of alcoholic beverages and effectively restricted that company’s authorization to the wholesale distribution of beer and wine products. The material facts of the case are undisputed. The outcome turns on a question of statutory construction. For the following reasons, we…