Elizabeth DeConti Authors Article for HospitalityLawyer.com

TAMPA, FL – October 24, 2019 – Alcohol and food law attorney Elizabeth DeConti, shareholder in GrayRobinson’s Tampa law firm office, published an article on HospitalityLawyer.com. The article, "Compliance Update: TTB Enforcement and Related Matters"  discusses how The U.S. Department of the Treasury, Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) in recent months, thanks to a generous allocation in the federal budget, has embarked on a rigorous trade practices investigation of alleged violations of the Federal Alcohol Administration Act. The Act contains "tied house" provisions which regulate the manner in which suppliers and wholesalers of alcoholic beverages may interact with retailers. The federal tied house statute prohibits exclusive outlets, tied house violations, commercial bribery, and consignment sales.

TTB, with the cooperation in some states of state alcohol agencies, is conducting a widespread investigation of supplier and retailer activities involving one or more of the following activities: "pay to play" tied house violations, exclusive outlet, commercial bribery consignment sales, slotting fees, illegal sponsorship arrangements, and improper use of third parties, etc. TTB is conducting widespread industry interviews and is serving both formal and informal document requests directed at identifying these activities. TTB may prosecute a violation of the Act if the agency can prove an illegal inducement or requirement of the retailer resulted in the retailer purchasing the offending supplier's products to the exclusion of other brands.

HospitalityLawyer.com is a worldwide network of attorneys that focus on hospitality, travel and tourism issues. It serves as a marketing conduit for suppliers of legal, safety and security solutions to reach hospitality developers and operators in need of those solutions, and mitigates critical incidents, injuries, litigation and liability within the hospitality industry, in the U.S. and abroad by facilitating the creation, collection, and dissemination of legal, safety and security information, products and services. Read the full article here.