An eight member Clark County District Court jury of Nevada has helped wine suppliers by upholding the state’s strict liquor laws and penalizing two Los Angeles-based import companies for illegal gray-market merchandise.
In 2002, two Los Angeles-based import companies had wrongly imported, marketed and sold counterfeit gray-market version of imported wine brands owned by Maisons Marques & Domaines USA (MMD), a US-based wine importer and marketer, and represented by Nevada branch of Southern Wine & Spirits of America (SWS-NV).
The ruling by the jury also included economic loss and punitive damage awards to MMD and SWS-NV.
MMD president and CEO Gregory Balogh said this is a significant victory against gray marketers who are opportunists and have little interest in preserving the image or quality of the brand.
"I am humbled and pleased by the court's well-thought-out decision of this decade-long journey of perseverance on behalf of the integrity of our brands marketed, sold and consumed in Nevada," Balogh added.
SWS-NV senior managing director Larry Ruvo said the judgment will reassure retail customers and consumers that they are serving and enjoying, respectively, legitimate branded merchandise produced and distributed for this marketplace.
"It will also provide MMD USA--and our other imported luxury-brand suppliers such as Moet Hennessy USA--with the peace of mind that their brand quality, equity and image are being stewarded properly across Nevada," Ruvo added.
"Last, and importantly, the positive impact of this judgment on the legitimate, local Nevada hospitality economy--which provides jobs for the thousands of workers who welcome and serve 40 million tourists per year--is a critical, ongoing effect of this landmark judgment."
The next hearing will be for the payment of legal fees incurred by MMD USA and SWS-NV from the two Los Angeles-based import firms.
