1561.14 License and registration classification.—Licenses and registrations referred to in the Beverage Law shall be classified as follows:
(1) Manufacturers licensed to manufacture alcoholic beverages and distribute the same at wholesale to licensed distributors and to no one else within the state, unless authorized by statute. Persons engaged in the business of distilling, rectifying, or blending spirituous liquors licensed under s. 565.03(2) shall sell and distribute such beverages at wholesale only to other manufacturers and to licensed distributors and to no one else within this state.
(2) Distributors licensed to sell and distribute alcoholic beverages at wholesale to persons who are licensed to sell alcoholic beverages.
(3) Vendors licensed to sell alcoholic beverages at retail only. No vendor shall purchase or acquire in any manner for the purpose of resale any alcoholic beverages from any person not licensed as a vendor, manufacturer, bottler, or distributor under the Beverage Law. Purchases of alcoholic beverages by vendors from vendors shall be strictly limited to purchases between members of a pool buying group for which the initial purchase of the alcoholic beverages was ordered by a pool buying agent as a single transaction. No vendor shall be a member of more than one cooperative or pool buying group at any time. No vendor shall import, or engage in the importation of, any alcoholic beverages from places beyond the limits of the state.
(4) Brokers or sales agents, whether resident or nonresident, licensed to sell, or to cause to be sold, shipped, and invoiced, alcoholic beverages to licensed manufacturers or licensed distributors, and to no one else, in this state. Such licensed brokers or sales agents, except as relates to malt beverages, only shall represent one or more primary American sources of supply, registered as such with the division, and may be compensated on a commission or remuneration basis and shall have no direct or indirect affiliation with any vendor licensed in this state. This license classification does not include manufacturers’ representatives who are registered with the division under the provisions of ss. 564.045(1) and (2) and 565.095(1) and (2).
(5) Importers, whether resident or nonresident, licensed to sell, or to cause to be sold, shipped, and invoiced, alcoholic beverages to licensed manufacturers or licensed distributors, and to no one else, in this state; provided that the provisions of ss. 564.045 and 565.095 are in no way violated by such imports. Such licensed importers shall have no direct or indirect affiliation with any vendor licensed in this state. The holder of an importer’s license shall be considered as having complied with the licensing requirements of a broker or sales agent. This license classification does not include manufacturers’ representatives who are registered with the division under the provisions of ss. 564.045(1) and (2) and 565.095(1) and (2).
(6) Bottle clubs. It is the finding of the Legislature that bottle clubs are susceptible to a distinct and separate classification under the Beverage Law for purposes of regulating establishments permitting the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Any person operating a bottle club must be licensed pursuant to this chapter and may not hold any other alcoholic beverage license for such premises while licensed as a bottle club. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to permit the purchase at wholesale or retail of alcoholic beverages for supplying or reselling to the patrons pursuant to a license issued under this chapter. Any such business shall be subject to all general, special, and local laws regulating vendors of alcoholic beverages. Bottle club licenses shall be issued at a fee of $500 annually and shall be renewed in accordance with the schedule set out in ss. 561.26 and 561.27. This subsection shall include bottle clubs in existence on January 1, 1991. The Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco is hereby authorized to adopt rules to carry out the purposes of this section.
(7) Exporters registered to sell alcoholic beverages.
History.—s. 4, ch. 16774, 1935; CGL 1936 Supp. 4151(230); s. 1, ch. 19499, 1939; s. 2, ch. 25359, 1949; s. 10, ch. 26484, 1951; s. 11, ch. 57-420; s. 1, ch. 63-562; s. 1, ch. 72-230; s. 1, ch. 72-272; s. 5, ch. 79-163; s. 14, ch. 81-158; s. 3, ch. 83-79; s. 1, ch. 85-62; s. 4, ch. 89-361; s. 2, ch. 90-233; s. 6, ch. 91-60; s. 3, ch. 95-346; s. 3, ch. 2013-157.
1Note.—Section 6(1), ch. 2013-157, provides that “[t]he Legislature declares that it would not have enacted individually the amendments to ss. 565.03 and 561.14, Florida Statutes, and expressly finds the amendments to those provisions not to be severable. If a court of competent jurisdiction determines any provision of those sections as amended by this act to be in conflict with any law of this state, a federal law or regulation, the State Constitution, or the United States Constitution, or to be otherwise invalid for any reason, it is the intent of the Legislature that the amendments to ss. 565.03 and 561.14, Florida Statutes, shall be void, that such invalidity shall void only those changes made by this act to ss. 565.03 and 561.14, Florida Statutes, and that no other law be affected.”
Cited 19 times | Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 1992 WL 164090
...The Association alleges that Florida's scheme regulating alcohol manufacture, packaging, distributing and selling meets this requirement. The Association fails to recognize, however, that this scheme itself reserves spheres of regulation to junior legislative bodies. See, e.g., § 561.14 (hours of operation in absence of county or municipal ordinance); § 562.45(2)(a) (local regulation of hours and location of operation, sanitary regulations); § 562.45(2)(b) (type of entertainment or conduct permitted in licensed premises); and, not least of all, Art....
Cited 12 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal
...The trial court rejected these contentions and rendered the Summary Final Judgment appealed. We affirm. The springboard that launched the specific Rule under attack, Rule 7A-4.50, supra, was the passage of Chapter 72-272, Laws of Florida, 1972, which amended Section 561.14(3), Florida Statutes, to allow a "vendor" to purchase or acquire alcoholic beverages from any other "vendor"....
...Section 561.01(10), Florida Statutes, provides, in pertinent part, that "the same discounts shall be offered to all vendors buying similar quantities". The obvious purpose of Rule 7A-4.50 is to effectuate the intention and purpose of the legislature in amending 561.14(3), supra, by allowing small vendors to "pool purchase" large quantities at the same price made available to large vendors and distributors....
...576. Applying the legal principles delineated above to the record in the case at bar, we find that the challenged rule is neither arbitrary nor capricious, and bears a reasonable relationship to the purposes intended by the Legislature when it amended Section 561.14(3), supra....
...t, substantial evidence, we have concluded that the question of whether or not "pool purchase plans" existed prior to the adoption of the rule is legally inconsequential. This is true because as of the date of its amendment by Chapter 72-272, supra, Section 561.14(3), supra, in and of itself, constituted sufficient authority to adopt such pooling agreements....
...NOTES [1] U.S.Const. amend. XXI, § 2 provides: "The transportation or importation into any State ... for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited." [2] Title 32, Fla. Stat. (1977). [3] § 561.14, Fla....
Published | Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | 2002 WL 31487618
...hierarchy act in the capacity of another. FLA. STAT. ANN. § 561.22(1) (West 2002).
For example, a manufacturer cannot act as a distributor or retailer. Second, it allows
only the last link in the vertical chain, the vendor, the ability to sell directly to
consumers. Id. § 561.14(3)....
Published | Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
...hierarchy act in the capacity of another. FLA. STAT. ANN. § 561.22(1) (West 2002).
For example, a manufacturer cannot act as a distributor or retailer. Second, it allows
only the last link in the vertical chain, the vendor, the ability to sell directly to
consumers. Id. § 561.14(3)....
BARKDULL, Judge. Southern Wine and Spirits, Inc., a distributor [as defined in Section 561.14(2), Florida Statutes (1979)] of an alcoholic product known as Bailey’s Irish Cream, had its supply of this beverage cut off. It subsequently brought a suit contending that, as a distributor of this product, it was entitled *959 to a mandatory injunction requiring The Paddington Corporation as the then manufacturer or representative [as defined in Section 561.14(1), Florida Statutes (1979)] to continue supplying Southern with Bailey’s Irish Cream because no proceedings had been had pursuant to Section 565.095(5), Florida Statutes (1979) to withdraw this registered brand from Southern....
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