Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, October 28, 1993                   TAG: 9310280127
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MAG POFF STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

ABC BOARD DELAYS DECISION ON ITS BAN ON CUT-RATE WINES

The board order blocks Haft's company, Total Beverage Corp., from buying wines from any Virginia wholesaler charging a lower price than that offered by Northern Virginia's largest wine distributor, Forman Distributing Co.

Total Beverage is a discount liquor operation based in Chantilly with outlets in Northern Virginia.

Haft's suit alleges that Forman and the other distributors unlawfully conspired to divide up sales territories in Virginia and to fix wine prices in those areas at artificially high levels.

Haft also wants the ABC board to grant a petition to intervene in the case from Dart Group Corp., the drug chain of which Haft is chairman.

Last week, Dart Group filed suit in Alexandria against Forman and four other Virginia wine distributors: Blue Ridge Beverage Co. of Roanoke, House of Beverage in Danville and companies in Chesapeake and Norfolk.

The board gave lawyers in the case until next Wednesday to file briefs in the case, but it did not say when it might hand down its decision.

Forman's attorneys referred calls to Barry Forman, chairman and chief executive officer of the company, who said Wednesday, "We are not going to discuss those things in a public forum."

Meanwhile, Total Beverage filed suit against members of the board alleging that the board failed to give Total Beverage and Dart a chance to be heard before issuing the order. They said this violated their constitutional rights to due process.

Haft sued the ABC board after it ordered wine bottler Schieffelin & Somerset Co. to stop supplying products to wholesaler E.C. Robins International of Charlottesville. The wine was destined for the Total Beverage store.

Forman, Northern Virginia's largest wine wholesaler, had been supplying Total Beverage. But Total switched some business to Robins this summer because it could get a lower price on certain wines.

Forman petitioned the ABC board in mid-October to block Robins' sales to Total Beverage, saying they "created a chaotic marketing situation." The board granted that request last Thursday.

Under Virginia's Wine Franchise Act, manufacturers give each wholesaler a "primary area of responsibility." Forman's area designated by Schieffelin is Northern Virginia and Robins is responsible for the Charlottesville area.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.