AB InBev loses trial after suing Constellation Brands
A Manhattan federal jury has ruled in favor of Constellation Brands, finding that Constellation Brands did not violate a U.S. distribution agreement with Grupo Modelo’s Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) unit by selling mineral water with alcohol and flavoring under the Modelo and Corona brands.
Brewing giant AB InBev suffered a setback in court after losing a lawsuit against Constellation Brands for selling two of its products to the U.S. market: Corona Hard Seltzer and Modelo Ranch Water. The U.S. court ruled that Constellation did not violate the contract it had signed with AB InBev to distribute its alcoholic seltzers under the Corona and Modelo brands.
As early as 2021, AB InBev and Grupo Modelo, its Mexican subsidiary, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. courts seeking to stop the sale of their respective products. Constellation has been able to sell Corona and Modelo beers in the United States since 2013 as a result of an agreement that includes all varieties of malted beverages, from traditional beer to porter, stout and other non-alcoholic blends.
The key issue in the case hinged on the definition of “beer” and the jury upheld Constellation Brands’ position that its permission to distribute beer under its Modelo brands also gave it the rights to sell alcoholic beverages such as Corona Hard Seltzer and Modelo Ranch Water.
