Court decision clears path for lawsuit over Pa. Liquor Control Board’s special order handling fees

Types : In the News

Restaurateurs, oenophiles and others who ordered wine and liquor not available in the commonwealth’s state liquor stores, are closer to potentially clawing back tens of millions of dollars in handling fees from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB).

The latest in a string of court losses clears the way for a class action lawsuit against the state’s only wine and spirits retailer. A Lancaster County restaurant filed the suit on behalf of other businesses and consumers who were improperly charged a $1.75 per-bottle handling fee.

Philadelphia attorney John Papianou, who has been pursuing the case since 2020, said the state could be on the hook for more than $50 million in damages for ignoring a statutory mandate that should have made it easier and cheaper to order rare wines and liquor.

“It’s not often that the state so clearly violates the law,” Papianou told the Capital-Star, adding that it’s even more unusual for substantial monetary damages to be involved.

“If a state’s not doing something that it’s supposed to do, it might affect somebody or a group of people, but typically you don’t see an unlawful taking,” he said.