Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is working hard to protect Michiganders from dangerous out of state wineries.
The same day the state’s former AGs weighed in on Nessel’s questionable job performance in the Michigan House on Wednesday, Nessel filed two lawsuits on behalf of taxpayers against wineries in New York and Washington, the Lansing State Journal reports.
The lawsuits against Pellegrini Vineyards and Tsillan Cellars bring the total number of out of state wineries Nessel has sued since 2023 to seven, following others against wineries in Montana, Oregon and California.
The litigation alleges the wineries sent products to Michigan customers without a direct shipper license, despite receiving cease and desist letters from Nessel.
The two lawsuits filed Wednesday in federal court are “fairly standard civil enforcement,” Nessel spokesman Danny Wimmer told the Journal, noting the AG “has filed many lawsuits against illegal shippers of alcoholic beverages and secured many judgements in favor of the State.”
Tsillan Cellars General Manager Bob Hargadon told the news site a clerical error that has since been fixed resulted in the winery making four shipments to Michigan in 2024, accounting for .001% of the company’s annual shipments.
One of those shipments went to the state’s liquor control commission, which was testing compliance with a cease and desist letter Nessel sent to the business in 2022.
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It’s the same situation with Pellegrini, which Nessel alleges also sent a bottle of wine to investigators despite a 2022 cease and desist letter.
“If this activity fails to cease within 14 days of your receipt of this letter, our office will take legal action to stop it,” the letter read. “This may include filing criminal charges.”
Nessel explained how she decides whether to pursue litigation on behalf of taxpayers during a recent conversation on Michigan Public Radio’s It’s Just Politics podcast.
“The formula that I use, and that I make my determinations on whether or not to join a lawsuit, to bring a lawsuit, really just two factors, right? Firstly, whatever the federal action is, whether I like it or not, whether I think that it’s bad for the state or not: does it violate the law? And secondly, if it does violate the law, is there a specific concrete harm that’s being done by that action to either the state of Michigan or to the people of the state of Michigan?” Nessel said. “And if both of those elements are satisfied, then generally we join in litigation.”
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It’s unclear what “concrete harm” the wineries foisted on their willing customers.
Regardless, two former Michigan Attorneys General testified Wednesday in the House Oversight Subcommittee on Weaponization of State Government on Nessel’s job performance, and lengthy history of questionable lawsuits against her political rivals.
“I’ve seen that firsthand,” state Rep. Angela Rigas, R-Caledonia, chair of the subcommittee told former AGs Mike Cox and Bill Schuette. “In 2020, I was ticketed for a first amendment event and ultimately, our current attorney general tried stripping my professional business license for that. That’s a clear example of weaponization of state government. So, I appreciate you here to give the committee and the people of Michigan a clear understanding of what the proper role of that office is.”
Former AGs Mike Cox and Bill Schuette discussed Nessel’s bungled prosecutions in the Flint Water Crisis, lawsuits against Michigan citizens during the pandemic, the prosecution of dozens of Republicans following the 2020 election, and numerous lawsuits against the Trump administration over recent executive orders she doesn’t like.
Other testimony focused on Nessel’s support for defunding the police, and her seeming propensity to view the law through a political spectrum.
“If you’re a Democrat, or a Republican, you have to fear prosecutors who view things through a prism like that,” Cox said.
The Wednesday subcommittee hearing is the first of what’s expected to be many aimed at exposing Nessel’s work as the state’s top law enforcement official. Just last week, Rigas requested numerous documents on Nessel’s bungled Flint Water Crisis prosecutions, which the AG ended in 2023 after the Michigan Supreme Court refused to allow Nessel to revive charges against Republican former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder.
“We heard some incredible testimony today,” Rigas said Wednesday. “I’m looking forward to receiving the documents we requested from Attorney General Nessel and cross-examining them with the testimony we received earlier. I’ve got a feeling this is only the beginning of our investigation.”