Walmart had asked the court to overturn a Texaslaw that bars liquor sales by publicly owned companies. As a result, Walmart will have to show Texas is intentionally discriminting against interstate commerce.
Walmart had said the Texas law has the effect of excluding almost all out-of-state retailers. he ban “operates to block anyone in a position to compete with Texans in the retail liquor market from doing so,” Walmart argued in its unsuccessful appeal.
Texas argued the law is simply a legitimate effort to reduce availability by preventing large companies from using economies of scale to reduce prices and increase the number of liquor outlets.