Chapter 18B

(a) Authorization. - The holder of an unfortified winery permit, a limited winery permit, a viticulture/enology course authorization, a wine producer permit, or a vendor representative permit may obtain a winery special event permit allowing the winery or wine producer to give fr…

The holder of a cider and vinegar manufacturer permit may purchase and transport unlimited quantities of out-of-date unfortified or fortified wines from wine wholesalers for the sole purpose of manufacturing a food product item. Any manufacturer of cider or vinegar may apply for …

(a) Authorization. - The holder of a wine producer permit may: (1) Ship crops grown on land owned by it in North Carolina to a winery, inside or outside the State, for the manufacture and bottling of unfortified wine from those crops and may receive that wine back in closed conta…

(a) Authorization. - The holder of a viticulture/enology course authorization may: (1) Manufacture wine from grapes grown on the school's campus or the school's contracted or leased property for the purpose of providing instruction and education on the making of unfortified wines…

(a) Authorization. - The holder of a brewery permit, a malt beverages importer permit, a brewing, distillation, and fermentation course authorization, a nonresident malt beverage vendor permit, or a vendor representative permit may obtain a malt beverage special event permit allo…

(a) Authorization. - The holder of a brewing, distillation, and fermentation course authorization may: (1) Manufacture malt beverages on the school's campus or the school's contracted or leased property for the purpose of providing instruction and education on the making of malt …

(a) Authorization. - The holder of a supplier representative permit, brokerage representative permit, nonresident spirituous liquor vendor permit, or distillery permit issued under G.S. 18B-1105 may obtain a spirituous liquor special event permit allowing the permittee to give fr…

(a) Definitions. - For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply: (1) Homemade product. - A malt beverage or wine produced pursuant to G.S. 18B-306. (2) Home maker club. - An organization devoted to malt beverages and wine produced pursuant to G.S. 18B-306 that: a…

(a) Permit Required. - Unless a person holds a permit which otherwise allows him to transport more than 80 liters of malt beverages other than draft malt beverages in kegs, 50 liters of unfortified wine, or eight liters of fortified wine or spirituous liquor, or is a retailer aut…

(a) Prohibitions. - It shall be unlawful for any manufacturer, bottler, or wholesaler of any alcoholic beverages, or for any officer, director, or affiliate thereof, either directly or indirectly to do any of the following: (1) Require that an alcoholic beverage retailer purchase…

The holder of a malt beverage wholesaler, wine wholesaler, malt beverage importer, wine importer, or bottler permit may not purchase malt beverages or wine for resale in this State from a nonresident who does not have the proper nonresident vendor permit. (1985, c. 114, s. 3.)

(a) A supplier or an officer, director, employee or affiliate of a supplier may not acquire, possess, or otherwise maintain an ownership interest in its wholesaler except as expressly authorized by this Chapter. (b) Repealed by Session Laws 2018-100, s. 7(b), effective June 26, 2…

(a) Application of This Chapter. - The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, a federally recognized Indian tribe and sovereign nation, and the Catawba Indian Nation, a federally recognized Indian tribe and sovereign nation, shall be exempt from the provisions of this Chapter, except …

A brewery, winery, or distillery may store any alcoholic beverages it manufactures pursuant to a permit issued under this Article at a noncontiguous storage location approved by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. The permittee must notify the Commission of any storage …

Except as otherwise prohibited under Article 3 of this Chapter, a commercial permittee licensed under this Article, or its agent or employee, may consume samples of alcoholic beverages it is licensed to sell, free of charge, for purposes of sensory analysis, quality control, or e…

Malt beverages may be produced, bottled, imported, distributed, and sold in sealed containers which are 50 milliliters or more in volume. The Commission shall not limit or restrict the size of an individual malt beverage container allowed for sale in this State, provided that the…

As used in this Article: (1) "Aggrieved party" means a person who sustains an injury as a consequence of the actions of the underage person, but does not include the underage person or a person who aided or abetted in the sale or furnishing to the underage person. (2) "Injury" in…

(a) This Article shall be liberally construed and applied to promote its underlying purposes and policies. (b) The underlying purposes and policies of the Article are: (1) To promote the compelling interest of the public in fair business relations between wine wholesalers and win…

As used in this Article, unless the context requires otherwise: (1) "Agreement" means a commercial relationship between a wine wholesaler and a winery. The agreement may be of a definite or indefinite duration and is not required to be in writing. Any of the following constitutes…

No winery may: (1) Induce, coerce, or attempt to induce or coerce any wine wholesaler to accept delivery of any alcoholic beverage or any other commodity which has not been ordered by the wine wholesaler; (2) Induce, coerce, or attempt to induce or coerce any wine wholesaler to d…

(a) Each agreement shall designate the sales territory of the wholesaler. No winery may enter into more than one agreement for each brand of wine or beverage it offers in any territory. A wholesaler shall not distribute any brand of wine to a retailer whose premises are located o…

Notwithstanding the terms, provisions, or conditions of any agreement, no winery may amend, cancel, terminate, or refuse to continue to renew any agreement, or cause a wholesaler to resign from an agreement, unless good cause exists for amendment, termination, cancellation, nonre…

(a) Except as provided in subsection (c), a winery shall provide a wholesaler at least 90 days prior written notice of any intention to amend, terminate, cancel, or not renew any agreement. The notice, a copy of which shall be mailed at the same time to the Commission, shall stat…

(a) No winery may unreasonably withhold or delay consent to any transfer of the wholesaler's business or transfer of the stock or other interest in the wholesaleship whenever the wholesaler to be substituted meets the material and reasonable qualifications and standards required …

(a) If a winery violates any provision of this Article, a wholesaler may maintain a suit against the winery. The court may grant injunctive and other appropriate relief, including damages to compensate the wholesaler for the value of the agreement and any good will, to remedy vio…

No winery, whether by means of a term or condition of an agreement or otherwise, may directly or indirectly fix or maintain the prices at which the wholesaler may sell any wine or beverage. (1983, c. 85, s. 2.)

No winery may take retaliatory action against a wholesaler who files or manifests an intention to file a complaint alleging that the winery violated a State or federal law or rule. Retaliatory action includes refusal without good cause to continue the agreement or a material redu…

An aggrieved party has a claim for relief for damages against a permittee or local Alcoholic Beverage Control Board if: (1) The permittee or his agent or employee or the local board or its agent or employee negligently sold or furnished an alcoholic beverage to an underage person…

No winery may require or prohibit any change in management or personnel of any wholesaler unless the current or potential management or personnel fails to meet reasonable qualifications and standards required by the winery. (1983, c. 85, s. 2.)

No winery may discriminate among its wholesalers in any business dealings, including the price of wine sold to the wholesaler, unless the classification among its wholesalers is based upon reasonable grounds. (1983, c. 85, s. 2.)

No winery may require any wholesaler to waive compliance with any provision of this Chapter. Nothing in this Chapter, however, may be construed to limit or prohibit good faith settlements of disputes voluntarily entered into between the parties. (1983, c. 85, s. 2.)

The purchaser of a winery, and any successor to the import rights of a winery, is obligated to all the terms and conditions of an agreement in effect on the date of the purchase or other acquisition of the right to distribute a brand, except for good cause, which includes, (1) Re…

It is a violation of this Article for any winery, directly or indirectly, to engage in any of the following practices: (1) To restrict the sale of any equity or indebtedness or the transfer of any securities of any wholesaler or in any way prevent or attempt to prevent the transf…

It is the intent of this Article that there shall be no unlawful discrimination based on race, color, creed, sex, religion, or national origin in any aspect of the awarding or maintaining of agreements covered by this Article. (1983, c. 85, s. 2.)

Nothing in this Article relieves a winery or wholesaler of any obligation, duty, or prohibition imposed by any other provision of this Chapter or by G.S. 75-1.1 or by any other provision of State law, and the remedies provided in this Article are nonexclusive. (1983, c. 85, s. 2.…

The plaintiff shall have the burden of proving that the sale or furnishing of the alcoholic beverage to the underage person, as defined, was, under the circumstances, negligent. Proof of the sale or furnishing of the alcoholic beverage to an underage person, as defined, without r…

The total amount of damages that may be awarded to all aggrieved parties pursuant to any claims for relief under this Article is limited to no more than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) per occurrence. When all claims arising out of an occurrence exceed five hundred thous…

The liability of the negligent driver or owner of the vehicle that caused the injury and the permittee or ABC board which sold or furnished the alcoholic beverage shall be joint and several, with right of contribution but not indemnification. (1983, c. 435, s. 37.)

This Article does not create a claim for relief against the following: (1) One who holds only a brown bagging permit, a special occasions permit, or a limited special occasions permit; (2) One who holds only a special one-time permit under G.S. 18B-1002; (3) One who holds only pe…

The statute of limitations is as provided in G.S. 1-54. (1983, c. 435, s. 37.)

When execution on a judgment on a cause of action under G.S. 18B-121 is returned unsatisfied, in whole or in part, the clerk of superior court to whom such return is made shall transmit to the Commission certified copies of the judgment, the execution and return and any other pro…

The creation of any claim for relief by this Article may not be interpreted to abrogate or abridge any claims for relief under the common law, but this Article does not authorize double recovery for the same injury. (1983, c. 435, s. 37.)

(a) No permittee or his agent or employee may be held liable for damages resulting from the refusal to sell or furnish an alcoholic beverage to a person who fails to show proper identification as described in G.S. 18B-302(d), or who appears to be an underage person. (b) No permit…

Pursuant to the authority of the State under the Twenty-First Amendment to the United States Constitution, the General Assembly finds that regulation of the business relations between malt beverage manufacturers and importers and the wholesalers of such products is necessary to: …

(1) "Supplier" means a brewer, bottler, or importer of malt beverages, including anyone who holds a brewery, malt beverages importer or nonresident malt beverages vendor permit. (2) "Wholesaler" means the holder of a malt beverages wholesaler permit. (1989, c. 142, s. 1; 1995, c.…

(a) Nature of Agreement. - A franchise agreement is a commercial relationship between a wholesaler and supplier of a definite or indefinite duration, whether written or oral, including: (1) A relationship whereby a wholesaler is granted the right to offer and sell the brands of m…

(a) Filing. - It is unlawful for a supplier to provide malt beverages to a wholesaler unless the Commission has received notification from the supplier designating the brands of the supplier which the wholesaler is authorized to sell and the territory in which such sales may take…

It is unlawful for a supplier, or an officer, agent or representative of a supplier, to: (1) Coerce or attempt to coerce or persuade a wholesaler to violate any provision of the ABC laws or rules of the Department of Revenue. (2) Except as authorized by G.S. 18B-1305(a1), alter i…

(a) Meaning of Good Cause. - Good cause for altering or terminating a franchise agreement, or failing to renew or causing a wholesaler to resign from such an agreement, exists when the wholesaler fails to comply with provisions of the agreement which are reasonable, material, not…

(a) Injunctive Relief. - A wholesaler whose franchise agreement is altered, terminated or not renewed in violation of this Article may bring an action to enjoin such unlawful alteration, termination or failure to renew. The action may be brought in the county in which the wholesa…