Is a biological half-sibling a 'family member' under Tennessee's Alcoholic Beverage Commission conflict-of-interest rule, even if one of them was adopted out by different parents?

Subject

Whether a biological half-sibling qualifies as a "family member" under Tenn. Code Ann. § 57-1-108, the Alcoholic Beverage Commission's conflict-of-interest provision, and whether adoption of one half-sibling by different parents changes the analysis.

Plain-English summary

The Executive Director of the Tennessee ABC asked whether a half-sibling counts as a family member under § 57-1-108, and whether adoption of one of them changes that. The AG's answers: yes, and no.

Section 57-1-108 prohibits ABC commissioners and employees from having any interest in distilleries, wholesale dealers, or retail dealers, and extends that prohibition to their "family members." The statute lists "spouse, child or children, father or mother, niece or nephew by blood or marriage, son-in-law or daughter-in-law" as family members.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has held that "including" in a statutory list is a "term of enlargement," not restriction. Lovlace v. Copley (2013); Gragg v. Gragg (2000). The list is illustrative; other persons "similar to those enumerated" are also covered.

A sibling is closer than a niece or nephew (the statute reaches nieces/nephews through siblings), so a sibling is a family member. The statute already covers "niece or nephew by blood or marriage," so blood relations matter. Half-siblings have the same blood relation as full siblings for purposes of being closer than nieces/nephews. Tennessee inheritance law (§ 31-2-107) treats half-blood and full-blood relatives identically for the same kind of question. The "broad prohibitions" purpose of § 57-1-108 supports including half-siblings.

Adoption doesn't change the answer either. The statute uses "by blood" language deliberately. A "nephew by blood" is a family member regardless of legal relationship status; the half-sibling parent "by blood" must be too. And adoption by different parents doesn't eliminate the biological relationship that the conflict-of-interest concern addresses.

What this means for you

If you are an ABC commissioner or employee with half-siblings

Treat your half-siblings as family members for § 57-1-108 purposes. They cannot work for or hold an interest in a Tennessee distillery, wholesale dealer, or retail dealer. The same applies regardless of whether the half-sibling was adopted by different parents.

If you are a half-sibling of an ABC commissioner

You are within the family-member rule. You cannot be employed by or hold an interest in a Tennessee distillery, wholesale dealer, or retail dealer while your half-sibling is on the commission or works there.

If you are an attorney advising an ABC commissioner candidate

Map the candidate's blood relatives, including half-siblings, before vetting. The "family member" definition is non-exhaustive, and the AG's reading covers half-siblings whether or not adoption has split the family legally.

If you are an ABC commission counsel

The reading of "including" as a term of enlargement applies broadly. Other relatives not enumerated (full siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, aunts and uncles) are likely also covered if they are similar in closeness to those listed. Treat the list as a floor.

If you are a Tennessee distillery, wholesaler, or retailer

When hiring, do due diligence on whether prospective employees are family members of ABC commissioners or employees. The conflict-of-interest restriction is on the regulated industry side as well.

Common questions

Q: What about full siblings?
A: Even more clearly covered. The opinion uses the half-sibling case to make a fortiori argument: if half-siblings are covered (which they are), full siblings certainly are.

Q: What about cousins?
A: The opinion does not address cousins specifically. The illustrative-list reading would consider whether a cousin is "similar to those enumerated." Cousins are typically more distant than the enumerated relatives, so the answer is less clear; treat with caution.

Q: What about a step-parent or step-child?
A: The opinion does not address step-relations. Step-relations through marriage are arguably similar to the enumerated in-law relations. Treat with caution and consider an advisory opinion.

Q: What if the half-sibling was adopted at birth?
A: Same answer. The "by blood" language and the conflict-of-interest purpose mean adoption doesn't break the family-member status.

Q: Are gifts and loans covered?
A: Yes. § 57-1-108(c) prohibits "interest of any kind, direct or indirect, pecuniary or otherwise, by a loan, mortgage, gift, seeking a loan, or guaranteeing the payment of any loan." The breadth of coverage matches the breadth of the family-member definition.

Q: Does this affect ABC's existing employees who learn of new family relationships?
A: A commission member or employee whose family member becomes covered under § 57-1-108 needs to address the conflict. The AG opinion does not provide procedural guidance for resolving a new conflict; coordinate with ABC counsel and the Tennessee Ethics Commission.

Background and statutory framework

Tennessee Code Annotated § 57-1-108 sets out conflict-of-interest provisions for ABC commissioners and employees. The statute prohibits any interest in distilleries, wholesale dealers, or retail dealers, and extends the prohibition to family members.

The "family member" definition uses "including" before listing spouse, children, parents, nieces and nephews "by blood or marriage," and in-laws. Tennessee Supreme Court doctrine (Lovlace v. Copley, 2013; Gragg v. Gragg, 2000) treats "including" as a term of enlargement: the enumerated items are illustrative rather than exclusive.

Tennessee inheritance law (§ 31-2-107) treats half-blood and full-blood relatives identically: "Relatives of the half blood inherit the same share they would inherit if they were of the whole blood." This cross-reference supports the AG's conclusion that half-siblings are family members for ABC purposes.

The "by blood" language in § 57-1-108(a) ("niece or nephew by blood or marriage") signals that biological relations are within scope independent of legal status. The half-sibling case fits comfortably in that scope.

Citations

Statutes:
- Tenn. Code Ann. § 57-1-108(a), (b), (c)
- Tenn. Code Ann. § 31-2-107

Cases:
- Coffee Cnty. Bd. of Educ. v. City of Tullahoma, 574 S.W.3d 832 (Tenn. 2019)
- Worley v. Weigels, Inc., 919 S.W.2d 589 (Tenn. 1996)
- Lovlace v. Copley, 418 S.W.3d 1 (Tenn. 2013)
- Gragg v. Gragg, 12 S.W.3d 412 (Tenn. 2000)
- State v. Marshall, 319 S.W.3d 558 (Tenn. 2010)
- State v. Netto, 486 S.W.2d 725 (Tenn. 1972)

Prior AG opinions:
- Tenn. Att'y Gen. Op. 85-198 (June 19, 1985)
- Tenn. Att'y Gen. Op. 94-062 (Apr. 20, 1994)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.tn.gov/attorneygeneral/opinions.html
• Original PDF: https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/attorneygeneral/documents/ops/2024/op24-010.pdf

Original opinion text

STATE OF TENNESSEE
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
July 3, 2024
Opinion No. 24-010

Members of the Alcoholic Beverage Commission—Conflict of Interest

Question 1

Is a biological half-sibling of a person a "family member" under Tenn. Code Ann. § 57-1-108?

Opinion 1

Yes.

Question 2

If so, does that status as a "family member" under Tenn. Code Ann. § 57-1-108 change if one of the half-siblings is adopted by different parents than the other sibling?

Opinion 2

Likely not.

ANALYSIS

Members of the Alcoholic Beverage Commission (ABC), as well as employees of the commission, are governed by a set of conflict-of-interest provisions:

No person shall be eligible to be appointed as a member of the commission, and no person shall be employed in any capacity by the commission, if such person shall have any interest, financial or otherwise, either direct or indirect, in any distillery, wholesale dealer or retail dealer licensed as such in this state. No family member, including spouse, child or children, father or mother, niece or nephew by blood or marriage, son-in-law or daughter-in-law, shall be employed by any distillery, wholesale dealer or retail dealer, nor shall any family member hold or have issued to them any alcoholic beverage license in this state.

No such person shall have interest of any kind in any building, fixtures, or in the premises occupied by any person, firm or corporation licensed under this chapter.

No such person shall own any stock, nor shall have any interest of any kind, direct or indirect, pecuniary or otherwise, by a loan, mortgage, gift, seeking a loan, or guaranteeing the payment of any loan, in any distillery, wholesale dealer or retail dealer licensed under this chapter.

Tenn. Code Ann. § 57-1-108(a)-(c).

These provisions prohibit ABC commissioners and employees from having any interest—financial or non-financial, direct or indirect—in a distillery, wholesale dealer or retail dealer. And they extend that prohibition to the "family members" of ABC commissioners and employees. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 57-1-108(a). That restriction ensures that no commission member or employee will be tempted to act for purposes other than in the public interest. See Tenn. Att'y Gen. Op. 94-062 (Apr. 20, 1994); Tenn. Att'y Gen. Op. 85-198 (June 19, 1985); 63 Am.Jur.2d Public Officers and Employees § 237 (2024).

To determine whether a biological half-sibling is a "family member" under Tenn. Code Ann. § 57-1-108, we must "examine the language of the statute, its subject matter, the object and reach of the statute, the wrong or evil which it seeks to remedy or prevent, and the purpose sought to be accomplished in its enactment." Coffee Cnty. Bd. of Educ. v. City of Tullahoma, 574 S.W.3d 832, 839 (Tenn. 2019). In that inquiry, "[t]he text of the statute is of primary importance." Id. We "assum[e] . . . that the legislature intended what it wrote and meant what it said." Worley v. Weigels, Inc., 919 S.W.2d 589, 593 (Tenn. 1996).

Here, the text of Tenn. Code Ann. § 57-1-108(a) provides helpful guidance. It states that the term "family member" "includ[es]" a person's "spouse, child or children, father or mother, niece or nephew by blood or marriage, son-in-law or daughter-in-law." Tenn. Code Ann. § 57-1-108(a). The Tennessee Supreme Court has explained when the term "'including' is used . . . in conjunction with a list of items, it serves as a term of enlargement not one of restriction." Lovlace v. Copley, 418 S.W.3d 1, 18 (Tenn. 2013). That is, "[w]hen a statutory definition states that it 'includes' specific items," the Tennessee Supreme Court has held "that the enumerated items are illustrative, not exclusive." Id. (quotations omitted). Accordingly, the persons listed as "family members" in Tenn. Code Ann. § 57-1-108(a) are illustrative of those persons who are subject to the conflict-of-interest provisions in the statute. See id. Other persons who "are similar to those enumerated in the statute" should also be classified as family members. Gragg v. Gragg, 12 S.W.3d 412, 415 (Tenn. 2000).

A biological half-sibling "may fairly be included" among the non-exclusive list of persons identified as "family members" in Tenn. Code Ann. § 57-1-108. See State v. Marshall, 319 S.W.3d 558, 561 (Tenn. 2010). While the statute does not specifically enumerate a "sibling" as a "family member," it lists a "niece" or "nephew" as such. A person who has a niece or nephew has that relationship, of course, through that person's sibling. It follows that a sibling of an ABC commissioner or employee would be a "family member" covered by the statute because a sibling would be more closely related to the ABC commissioner or employee than a niece or nephew. See State v. Netto, 486 S.W.2d 725, 728 (Tenn. 1972).

The difference between a "full-sibling" and a "half-sibling" changes nothing. For one, other areas of Tennessee law suggest that there is no familial difference between full and half-siblings. See e.g., Tenn. Code Ann. § 31-2-107 ("Relatives of the half blood inherit the same share they would inherit if they were of the whole blood."). For two, it would make no sense to define "family member" to cover those who have no biological relationship to a person—e.g., "son-in-law," "daughter-in-law," "niece and nephew . . . by marriage," Tenn. Code Ann. § 57-1-108(a)—yet exclude a person who biologically shares a parent. For three, the inclusion of a biological half-sibling as a "family member" furthers the purpose of the "broad prohibitions" within § 57-1-108 that are "clearly intended" to prevent any potential conflicts of interest. Tenn. Op. Att'y Gen. No. 94-062 (Apr. 20, 1994); Coffee Cnty., 574 S.W.3d at 839. Thus, in the Office's opinion, half-siblings likely qualify as "family members" under Tenn. Code Ann. § 57-1-108.

This same reasoning applies when a half-sibling is adopted by different parents. Section 57-1-108(a) specifically references relations "by blood"—making clear that legal relations between family members are not dispositive. Under the plain text, a person's "nephew by blood" qualifies as a family member, even if the "nephew by blood['s]" parent (the half-sibling) was adopted by different parents. Tenn. Code Ann. § 57-1-108(a). It cannot be that a "nephew by blood" qualifies as a family member but his parent—the half-sibling "by blood"—does not. Id. Moreover, nothing about a half-sibling's adoption eliminates the conflict-of-interest concerns presented by the biological relationship. The bottom line: A court would likely treat a half-sibling as a "family member" under Tenn. Code Ann. § 57-1-108 whether the half-sibling was adopted by different parents or not.

JONATHAN SKRMETTI
Attorney General and Reporter

J. MATTHEW RICE
Solicitor General

LAURA T. KIDWELL
Assistant Solicitor General

Requested by:
The Honorable Russell F. Thomas
Executive Director
Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission
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