$4 million judgment against Napa winery moves forward after temporary stay dissolved

Hoopes Vineyard is facing nearly $4 million in fines and legal fees after an appeals court ended a pause on an earlier Napa County Superior Court judgment requiring the payment.

On May 29, the state's 1st District Court of Appeals dissolved a temporary stay on enforcement originally granted April 11 by one of the court's judges.

Attorneys for winery owner Lindsay Hoopes - the Sacramento-based Pacific Legal Foundation that is representing Hoopes at no charge - subsequently petitioned the California Supreme Court to reinstate the stay. But the court on Tuesday, June 9, denied that petition, opening up Hoopes to county enforcement efforts.

Napa County has already begun taking steps to seek payment. The county on June 1 issued a writ of execution to begin enforcement of the $4 million judgment.

Meantime, a separate case on appeal, arguing the county fees are unconstitutional and should be overturned, remains active.

Winery owner Hoopes and her attorneys have consistently argued the penalties are excessive and will drive the winery into bankruptcy - an assertion attorneys working for the county previously challenged based on a lack of evidence they said would be needed to make that determination.

Napa County public information officer Linda Weinreich said in a statement Wednesday, June 10, the county is currently evaluating its options for collection of the monetary judgment. She also said the county is "simply enforcing our code, which is designed to protect the health, safety and welfare of Napa County."

"Hoopes has violated the code in several ways for many years, creating a public nuisance on the property, which could have led to serious consequences for the public and the environment," Weinreich said in a statement.

The judgment stems from a long-running legal dispute between the county and the winery over permitting. The county specifically alleged the Yountville-area winery had gone beyond what was allowed under a historic exemption given to the county's longest-operating small wineries, by holding public wine tastings and tours, along with events. Hoopes argued the winery was allowed to serve wine on its premises under a California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control license.

That dispute culminated in a 2024 trial the county won, which later resulted in the judgment ordering Hoopes to pay $2.25 million in attorneys fees, $1.53 million in civil penalties, $111,230 in abatement costs and roughly $70,000 in statutory costs. Another part of the judgment - a permanent injunction prohibiting public wine tastings and tours along with other activities at the winery - was previously paused by a Napa County Superior Court judge while the appeal of the judgment moved forward.

But Napa County is now free to pursue the monetary part of the judgment.

"Unless the court spontaneously restores the stay that prevented the county from collecting while the case is ongoing, the county can simply bury Lindsay at any moment," Pacific Legal Foundation lawyer Bridget Conlan said.

You can reach Staff Writer Edward Booth at 707-521-5281 or edward.booth@pressdemocrat.com.

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This story was originally published June 11, 2026 at 1:06 PM.