A Lompoc winery has filed a lawsuit against the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors and the Santa Barbara County Vintners Association over fees paid to the county’s Wine Business Improvement District.

Flying Goat Cellars filed a lawsuit against the board and the association in U.S. District Court on Thursday, accusing them of violating the owners’ constitutional rights by requiring the winery to join the district and pay a fee as part of its membership.

Flying Goat Cellars originally opened in 2000 and is owned by Norm Yost and Kathleen Griffith.

Fourth District Supervisor Bob Nelson also was named in the lawsuit in his role as chair of the board.

The lawsuit claims that being required to join the Santa Barbara County Wine Improvement District violates the winery’s First and Fifth Amendment rights. The lawsuit was filed by the Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation at the Goldwater Institute and Friedland Cianfrani LLP.

The Board of Supervisors originally approved the creation of the SBCWID in February 2025 in a 5-0 vote. The BID collects a 1% fee on every bottle of wine sold to customers by members of the district.

The fee is collected from sales in tasting rooms, wine clubs, events, food, merchandise and more. All fees collected by the BID are used to promote tourism in the region.

The estimated annual revenue from the fee was estimated at $1.5 million.

The district is managed by the Vintners Association, which promotes Santa Barbara County as a tourist destination and is supported by member dues.

The lawsuit claims that Yost and Griffith are being “compelled to subsidize speech and advocacy with which they disagree.”

According to the lawsuit, the pair sent a letter to the association requesting the opportunity to opt out of joining the district but did not receive an answer. The pair argued that the BID’s goal of promoting the region’s wine market is not compatible with their winery’s business model.

“Rather than focusing on export markets or international recognition, Flying Goat serves local customers in Lompoc and the surrounding area,” the lawsuit claimed.

“Norm and Kathleen have built their business on direct relationships with wine drinkers who come through their doors, not the kind of broad promotion campaigns the SBCVA favors. Their vision for their winery and the SBCVA’s vision for the Santa Barbara County wine industry are not the same.”

The lawsuit argues that forcing them to become members of the district and subsidize the Vintners Association’s marketing campaign violates their right to freedom of association under the First Amendment.

Additionally, the lawsuit claims that the district violated the winery’s Fifth Amendment rights by taking their private property to benefit a private association rather than the public.

Griffith previously spoke out against the formation of the BID during the Board of Supervisors meeting in February 2025. She requested financial and technical support for wineries that would need to upgrade their sales systems to account for the new fee.

She argued that the members of the district should not have to incur any costs related to collecting the fee.

The lawsuit requests that Yost and Griffith be awarded damages in the amount of revenue they paid to the SBCWID, their legal fees and the amount of $1 for the violation of their civil rights.

Noozhawk reached out to the Board of Supervisors for a statement, but the county declined to respond because the case is ongoing.

The Santa Barbara County Vintners Association did not respond before the publication of this article.