Could a South Carolina alcohol seller get a new license at another location while its existing license was suspended?

Official title

As to whether a person or entity whose license to sell alcohol has been suspended or revoked is eligible to obtain another license for a different location during the period in which such suspension or revocation is in effect.

Requester

The Honorable Mike Fair, Senator, District No. 6

Plain-English summary

A senator asked whether someone whose alcohol license was suspended or revoked at one premises could obtain another license for a different location during that period. The Attorney General answered no. It found the statutory text direct: the same person or entity was ineligible for an additional new license or permit at another location while the suspension or revocation remained in effect.

The opinion noted that “person” included organizations such as companies and limited-liability companies, not just individuals. It also reaffirmed an earlier office opinion applying a similar rule to an applicant seeking licenses at other locations.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2014. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Could a suspended alcohol-license holder apply for a new permit at another store? A: The opinion said that holder was ineligible for an additional new permit at another location during the suspension.

Q: Did the rule apply to a company as well as an individual?
A: Yes. The opinion said the statutory definition of “person” included companies and other entities.

Q: Did revocation also prevent a new license at a different address? A: Yes. The statute discussed in the opinion covered both suspension and revocation for the period each remained in effect.

Background and statutory framework

The office relied on the alcohol-licensing provision that addressed an additional new license after a suspension or revocation at a particular premises. It read that provision together with the title's broad definition of “person.”

Source

• Landing page: https://www.scag.gov/opinions/opinions-archive/march-17-2014/
• Original PDF: https://www.scag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/fair-m-os-9748-3-17-14-eligibility-for-alcohol-permit-or-license-00272887xD2C78.pdf

Original opinion text

ALAN WILSON
ATTORNEY GENERAL

March 17, 2014

The Honorable Mike Fair
Senator, District No. 6
P.O. Box 14632
Greenville, S.C. 29610
Dear Senator Fair,
You seek an opinion as to whether a person or entity whose license to sell alcohol has been suspended or revoked is eligible to obtain another license for a different location during the period in which such suspension or revocation is in effect.

Law/Analysis
The statutory provisions regulating alcoholic beverages are found in Title 61 of the S.C. Code ( 1976, as amended). Directly on point is subsection (E) of§ 61-2-140 which states:

(E) A person whose license or permit has been suspended or revoked for a particular premises is not eligible to receive an additional new license or permit at .another location during the period the suspension or revocation is in effect, and the department may suspend or revoke all other licenses or permits held by the person if the suspended or revoked premises is within close proximity.
§ 61-2- l 40(E) (Supp. 1996) (emphasis added). The term "person" as used in Title 61, unless the context requires otherwise, "includes an individual, a trust, estate, partnership, limited liability company, receiver, association, company, corporation, or any other group." § 61-2-1OO(H)(1 ). It is unequivocally clear from the plain language of § 6 l-2- l 40(E) that a person or entity whose license has been suspended or revoked is ineligible for a license or perm it at another location during the effective period of the suspension or revocation. We therefore affirm a 1975 opinion of this Office in which we specifically concluded that the president of a company whose alcohol license at a particular location was revoked was ineligible for another alcohol license at any of the seven other locations she

REMBERT

c. DENNIS BUILDING • POST OFACE Box 11549 • COLUMBIA, SC 29211-1549 • TELEPHONE 803-734-3970 • FACSIMILE 803-253-6283

The Honorable Mike Fair
Page 2
March 17, 2014

appl ied for based on a statutory provision nearly identical to§ 61-2-140(E). 1 See Op. S.C. Att'y Gen., 1975 WL 28996 (Ju ly 9, 1975).

Sin~erely.

bJ

Harrison D. Brant
Assistant Attorney General
REV IEWED AND APPROVED BY:

Solicitor Genera l

1

At that time, § 4-29.6 of the 1962 Code of Laws provided, in part, that "[a]ny person whose license has been suspended or revoked for a particular prern ises shall not be eligible for a license at any other location during the period such suspension or revocation is in effect."