The liquor stores had appealed a decision by the state regulator not to renew their licenses. Although they were in a village of just nine residents, they sold 3.5 million cans of beer a year, most of it to native Americans on the Prine Ridge Indian Reservation.
The decision was based on a jurisdictional question, with the court ruling that the district court that issued the initial ruling didn’t have proper jurisdiction because the retailers failed to include all parties of records in their appeal.