In a court case being watched closely by those in the alcohol beverage industry, a Manhattan federal jury found that Constellation Brands did not violate a U.S. distribution agreement with Anheuser-Busch InBev SA by selling hard seltzers branded with the Modelo and Corona names.
The jury agreed with Constellation’s argument that its license to distribute beer bearing Modelo’s brand names also allows it to sell alcoholic drinks like Corona Hard Seltzer and Modelo Ranch Water, essentially laying down hard seltzer and hard waters fit into the legal category as “beer.”
The lawsuit aimed to first pin down the legal definition of “beer” to determine whether a license breach occurred. The lawsuit centered on Constellation’s sublicensing agreement with Grupo Modelo which is the Mexican division of Anheuser-Busch InBev.
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