Tennessee law imposed a series of strict durational-residency requirements on all people and businesses applying to obtain a license to operate a liquor store in the State. To obtain an initial retail license, an individual was required to show that they had “been a bona fide resident” of the State for the previous two years.

Total Wine & More, seeking to open a location in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Doug and Mary Ketchum, the new owners of Kimbrough Wines & Spirits in Memphis, Tennessee applied to obtain initial retail licenses. A legal opinion from Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery III advised against enforcement of the residency requirement, so the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverages Commission intended to approve the license applications.

The Tennessee Wine and Spirits Retailers Association, an organization representing nearly 500 liquor stores in the State, filed an action in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee to order enforcement of the residency requirement. Russell Thomas, the Director of the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverages Commission, refused to defend the residency requirement in accordance with the Attorney General’s opinion. The district court issued an injunction against the State, preventing enforcement of the residency requirement. The State declined to appeal, but the the Tennessee ABC chose to do so themselves. On appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit found the residency requirement under the Commerce Clause. The Tennessee ABC again appealed, and the Supreme Court granted certiorari.