Gabriel Investment Group, or GIG, sought a court ruling thatto a major public corporation. The TABC, which regulates the state’s liquor industry, opposed the request.
GIG argues the exemption would transfer to any public corporation that buys its shares. The TABC has argued the exemption only attaches to GIG itself. TABC has opposed public corporations owing liquor stores, apparently concerned they could dominate the booze business in Texas.“If GIG’s unusual corporate structure relative to other permit holders had enabled it to grow to dominate the landscape, the Legislature could have responded to address concerns about the exempt corporations’ diffuse ownership or their market dominance. The opposite seems to have happened,” the court added.
While in bankruptcy reorganization, GIG sued the TABC in an effort to get a bankruptcy judge’s approval to sell company shares to a non-exempt public company, such as Walmart. Bankruptcy court and federal court judges in San Antonio ruled against GIG in its lawsuit, leading the company to appeal to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.