Tag: Colorado

  • Grocery Bag Fee is Not a Tax, Colorado Supreme Court Holds

    The Colorado Supreme Court has upheld a municipal ordinance charging a $0.20 “waste reduction fee” for paper grocery bags and prohibiting disposable plastic bags, ruling the charge is part of a regulatory program of waste management and not a tax. Colo. Union of Taxpayers Found. v. City of Aspen, No. 16SC377 (Colo., entered May 21,…

  • Vintner Alleges Colorado Wine Industry Development Fee is Illegal Tax

    A vintner has filed a lawsuit alleging Colorado’s “wine development fee,” charged to wholesalers, is an unconstitutional excise tax. Vineland Corp. v. Colorado, No. 18-30199 (Colo. D.C., filed April 24, 2018). Since 1990, Colorado has imposed a 10-year renewable excise tax of one cent per liter on all vinous liquors sold in the state. In…

  • Federal Court Holds Noodles & Co. Has No Independent Duty of Care to Card Issuers For Data Breach

    A federal court has dismissed with prejudice a data-breach suit filed by a group of credit unions against Noodles & Co., holding that the restaurant had no independent duty of care to the unions distinct from its contractual agreements with MasterCard and Visa. SELCO Cmty. Credit Union v. Noodles & Co., No. 16-2247 (D. Colo.,…

  • Court Dismisses Shareholder Suit Against Chipotle

    A Colorado federal court has dismissed a shareholder derivative action against Chipotle alleging the company’s officers and directors of food­-safety oversight failed to take action to prevent outbreaks of foodborne illness. Gubricky v. Ells, No. 16­-2011 (D. Colo., order entered June 7, 2017). The plaintiff claimed the defendants had failed to implement and enforce effective…

  • Torchy’s Tacos Sues Competitor for Infringement of “Damn Good Tacos”

    Texas chain Torchy’s Tacos, which uses the tagline “Damn Good Tacos” in its restaurants and merchandising, has filed suit against Colorado restaurant Dam Good Tacos for trademark infringement, claiming consumer confusion. Success Foods Mgmt. Group, LLC v. Dam Good Systems, LLC, No. 17­0842 (D. Colo., filed April 5, 2017). Asserting that it registered the “Damn…

  • Soft Drink Taxes Gain Nationwide Traction

    Four cities and one county have reportedly passed taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), joining Berkeley, California, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in adopting measures purportedly designed to curb sugary-drink consumption. According to media sources, voters in Boulder, Colorado, passed a 2-cent-per-ounce excise tax on SSB distributors, while those in San Francisco, Oakland and Albany, California, passed a…

  • Boulder Public Health Group Advocates Excise Tax on Sugar-Sweetened Beverages

    Healthy Boulder Kids has submitted to the city of Boulder, Colorado, a draft initiative that would impose on distributors a 2-cent per ounce excise tax on beverages that contain at least 5 grams of sweeteners per 12 fluid ounces. Pending review and approval by the city clerk, the public health coalition would then have until…

  • Several Contaminated-Cantaloupe Cases Settled

    A Colorado state court has approved the settlements of several wrongful death and personal injury suits against 14 defendants—including Jensen Farms—stemming from the sale of cantaloupe tainted with Listeria that killed 33 people in 2011. Exley v. Jensen Farms, No. 2011-1891 (Colo. D.C., Arapahoe Cty., order entered March 5, 2015). The court dismissed 24 of…