The S.C. Hospitality Association on Wednesday sued the Palmetto Hospitality Association in civil court in Columbia, accusing the group of wrongfully using the original organization's goodwill in ads against changing the minibottle requirement.

The S.C. Hospitality Association asked for an immediate injunction against use of the name Palmetto Hospitality Association in minibottle-referendum ads, said Tom Sponseller, president of the organization.

John Beach, attorney for the Palmetto Hospitality Association, said he had not had time to study the lawsuit in detail and could not comment on the substance of it.

"We don't think that their lawsuit has any merit," Beach said.

The S.C. Hospitality Association, which began in 1947, includes the S.C. Restaurant Association and S.C. Hotel-Motel Association. It has campaigned to end the minibottle requirement for at least 10 years.

The Palmetto Hospitality Association formed earlier this month to oppose the referendum, which asks voters if they want to remove from the state constitution the requirement that liquor by the drink be sold in minibottles.

Sponseller said the suit alleges the spokeswoman for Palmetto Hospitality Association admitted her group was composed of liquor distributors, wholesalers and liquor stores.

Those businesses are not usually considered hospitality because they do not serve people directly but instead supply the hospitality business, Sponseller said.

"Our board of directors and members are extremely upset that this organization is purposefully playing on the good name and goodwill that the Hospitality Association of South Carolina has created over the years," Sponseller said.

He said his members have invested their money to develop the association's brand, "and, in just three weeks, this group has purposefully confused the public, the media and members of the General Assembly in their opposition to our association's support of a 'yes' vote."

State Sen. Wes Hayes, R-Rock Hill, said the ads sponsored by Palmetto Hospitality Association created some animosity from legislators who supported the change to free-pour and who thought the S.C. Hospitality Association was running the ads.

The commercials say that there is no plan to implement free-pouring and that the General Assembly should not be trusted to formulate a plan.

Hayes was the author of the Senate plan, which was to be reconciled with a House plan but was blocked by a filibuster. The majority of legislators expect that plan to pass quickly if the referendum passes, he said.