Superior Beverage files lawsuit

The lawsuit asks for injunctive relief and damages.

STAFF REPORT

YOUNGSTOWN — Superior Beverage Group of Austintown claims in a federal lawsuit it has exclusive rights to distribute certain alcoholic beverages that are now going to a competitor.

The lawsuit filed last week in U.S. District Court names as defendants W. J. Deutsch & Sons Ltd., New York; Ascentia Wine Estates, California; and Glazer’s Distributors, Ohio. The lawsuit describes Deutsch as the sales and marketing agent for Ascentia and Glazer’s as a distributor of alcoholic beverages in Ohio prohibited from distributing the same brands within the same county as Superior.

Superior, based on Victoria Road, is represented by Youngstown attorney James L. Messenger. He was not available to comment. The defendants are represented by Cleveland attorney James B. Niehaus.

Superior contends it owned and maintained a franchise with exclusive rights to distribute brands produced by Geyser Peak Winery, Buena Vista Winery, Gary Farrell Winery, Atlas Peak Winery, Covey Run Winery, Chapelle Winery and Columbia Crest. The eight brands stopped coming to Superior in June 2008 and began going to Glazer, a violation of the Ohio Alcoholic Beverage Franchise Act, according to the lawsuit.

“First, Glazer’s and Superior are competitors,” Niehaus said in court papers. “Under Ohio law, competitors are entitled to compete for sales to customers.”

He said only one distributor may be designated to sell the Ascentia brands in any specific geographic territory and Deutsch, as the sales and marketing agent, designated Glazer.

As distributor, Superior invested substantial money on promotion of the brands and Ascentia has failed to pay just compensation for termination of the franchise, the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit seeks injunctive relief, asking that Ascentia be prohibited from sending the eight brands to Glazer and Glazer be prohibited from distributing them. Superior wants a judge to determine that Superior is the “true franchise owner of the brands” and order that shipments to it resume.

Superior claims its damages include reduction in the variety of inventory it can supply to established customers, loss of clientele and decreased revenue. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge David D. Dowd in Akron federal court.