What Missouri decision, you say? The one we mentioned yesterday from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri Central Division, wherein Missouri's Missouri Beverage Company sued importer Shelton Brothers for violation of the Missouri franchise law. The closer we looked at it, the more we realized what it signifies: A significant win for suppliers in the ongoing struggle over franchise laws. If this decision has precedence - and indeed, Missouri has cited to New Jersey's case law for its similar franchise statute, so New Jersey likely does the same - distribs might start scrutinizing state codes more closely. Because according to last week's decision on Missouri Beverage Company v. Shelton Brothers, the distributor and supplier never had a franchisor-franchisee business relationship at all.