Category: 4th Circuit
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COOL Dispute Intensifies Before D.C. Court and WTO
A federal court in the District of Columbia will consider on August 27, 2013, whether to issue a preliminary injunction to stop the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) from implementing country-of-origin labeling (COOL) program changes required by a 2011 World Trade Organization (WTO) determination that, as initially drafted, the rules gave less favorable treatment to…
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Counsel Awarded $90.8 Million in Black Farmers’ Discrimination Suit
A federal court has awarded $90.8 million to the attorneys who represented African-American farmers in litigation against the U.S. Department of Agriculture alleging discrimination in the loan application process. In re Black Farmers Discrimination Litig., No. 08-0511 (D.D.C., decided July 11, 2013). Additional details about class counsels’ request appear in Issue 405 of this Update. Explaining…
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Meat Trade Groups Challenge COOL Labeling Regulations
Trade organizations representing the interests of cattle and pork producers and meat processors in Canada and the United States have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), challenging country-of-origin (COOL) labeling regulations that took effect May 23, 2013. Am. Meat Inst. v. USDA, No. 13-1033 (D.D.C., filed July 8, 2013). They seek declaratory…
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Court Dismisses “Non-GMO” Lawsuit Against Beverage Cos. Filed by “Frequent Flyer”
A federal court in Maryland has dismissed, under the first-to-file rule, a lawsuit brought by a plaintiff characterized as a “frequent flyer in the United State judicial system,” finding that five similar putative class action lawsuits against the defendants, three of which were filed before the plaintiff filed his complaint, are currently pending in a…
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Federal Court Narrows Claims in Tomato Recall Suit Against FDA
A federal court in South Carolina has dismissed three of four claims in a lawsuit filed by a family farming operation that claims the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) 2008 tomato recall, which later proved unnecessary as the agency conceded that tomatoes were not the source of the Salmonella contamination, caused the farm substantial economic harm.…
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Tomato Grower’s Negligence Claims from 2008 Recall Survive Motion to Dismiss
A federal court in South Carolina has reportedly determined that a tomato grower seeking damages from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allegedly caused by a 2008 tomato recall that followed a Salmonella outbreak which was ultimately found not to be linked to contaminated tomatoes, may pursue negligence claims against the agency. Williams Farms…
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Court Enjoins Dairy Farmer from Selling Raw Milk Across State Lines
A federal court in Pennsylvania has granted the U.S. government’s motion for summary judgment and permanently enjoined a Pennsylvania dairy farmer from selling raw milk and milk products in interstate commerce. United States v. Allgyer, No. 11-02651 (E.D. Pa., decided February 2, 2012). According to the court, Daniel Allgyer’s interstate sales of raw milk were…
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Del Monte Dismisses Lawsuit Seeking to Lift Cantaloupe Import Restrictions
Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A. has filed a notice of dismissal in a Maryland federal court after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) agreed to lift the import alert it imposed on cantaloupes from Guatemala that had purportedly been linked to a Salmonella outbreak. Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A., Inc. v. United States, No. 11-2338…