The Whiskey Reviewer A World of Whiskey, Poured Every Weekday
By Richard Thomas
On Tuesday Cincinnati, Ohio’s Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower federal court’s ruling, allowing Louisville residents who have complained about the fungus allegedly caused by tons of ethanol emissions from old Stitzel-Weller Distillery warehouses, now associated with Bulleit Bourbon and owned by British drinks giant Diageo, to proceed with their lawsuit against the company.
Writing for the Appeals panel, Judge John M. Rogers rejected Diageo’s claims the federal Clean Air Act blocks local residents from suing under state or local nuisance laws. “The Clean Air Act text makes it clear that the act does not pre-empt such claims,” Rogers wrote.
Evaporating alcohol is known to foster a black fungus called “distillery mold,” and this fungus is seen at most whiskey distilleries around the world, including Kentucky. The attorney prosecuting the case, Louisville attorney William F. McMurry, is also pursuing similar litigation against Brown-Forman and Heaven Hill, and hopes the ruling against Bulleit and Diageo will help with his other two cases.
