Liquor Outlet, DCP Reach Agreement

(Hartford, Conn./CBS Connecticut) – Total Wine & More has agreed to stop selling liquor at below the minimum price rules in the state.

The Department of Consumer Protection says the liquor retailer, with four stores in Connecticut, the outlet will pay a fine of $37,500.

Earlier this summer Total Wine & More filed suit against the state, saying the minimum pricing standard flew in the face of anti-trust laws.

DCP Commissioner Jonathan Harris conducted an investigation, which determined Total Wine was breaking the law in selling it’s product for below the minimum price set by the state.

The agreement, the department says, doesn’t affect Total Wine’s lawsuit.

Those in the package store industry had said that Total Wine’s actions would hurt the smaller “mom and pop” stores.

Governor Dannel Malloy has pushed for an end to minimum pricing, so far to no avail.