The Kansas City company responsible for wine bottles etched with the Green Bay Packers logo is alleging it is owed more than $45,000 by Pure Wine Wisconsin, a Milwaukee wine distributor.
A part of Missouri-based Mano’s Inc.’s business involves selling wine bottles with custom labels, including names and logos of professional and collegiate sports teams. Pure Wine filed a lawsuit against Mano’s Inc. in November alleging the company violated Wisconsin dealership law when it ended their relationship.
In filing its answer and counterclaim, Mano’s argued Pure Wine does not qualify as a dealership under Wisconsin law. Whether it does or not, Mano’s said the agreement between the companies would be void because Pure Wine “made little or no effort to identify, develop, market to, or service potential purchasers … and, in fact, made almost no sales.”
Mano’s says Pure Wine requested the opportunity to sell its products in Wisconsin and it agreed to sell Pure Wine products on a purchase order basis. Mano’s says Pure Wine made orders in October 2016 and June 2017, but has not paid more than $45,000 in invoices for the products.
Most of the bottles ordered by Pure Wine were to have a Green Bay Packers Ice Bowl retro logo, but the invoices submitted to the court also include bottles with Marquette University, Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs, Wisconsin, Madison and Milwaukee themes along with some for significant life events.
In the complaint, Pure Wine says it “exerted substantial efforts to identify, develop, market to and service potential purchasers.” It alleges it secured a verbal commitment from Roundy’s Supermarkets for 2,000 cases of the Packers wine, but the deal fell through when a Roundy’s representative allegedly said the company couldn’t work with Pure Wine as a vendor.
In the answer, Mano’s acknowledges Roundy’s expressed interest and that it valued the potential relationship with the grocery store chain. But it also says Roundy’s expressed concerns about Pure Wine’s ability to serve as a distributor and alleges that Pure Wine suggested not selling to Roundy’s as a part of the strategy moving forward.
The Mano’s counter claim seeks to have the Pure Wine lawsuit dismissed along with a judgment for an amount to be determined at trial.
