Cotto Waxo Company v. Charles W. Williams, as Commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

BEAM, Circuit Judge.

This is a dormant Commerce Clause ease. Cotto Waxo challenges a Minnesota law prohibiting the sale of petroleum-based sweeping compounds. The district court held that the local benefits of the law outweigh the law’s burden on interstate commerce, and granted summary judgment in favor of the state. We reverse.

I. BACKGROUND

In 1992, the Minnesota legislature enacted a statute (the Act) prohibiting the sale of petroleum-based sweeping compounds. 1 The Act granted enforcement powers to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

Before passage of the Act, Cotto Waxo sold…