Plaintiffs Appeal Court’s Decision in Country of Origin Labeling Lawsuit

On September 23, 2013, the American Meat Institute (AMI) filed an appeal of the recent court ruling denying a preliminary injunction of the USDA Country of Origin Labeling rule (COOL). In the appeal, Plaintiffs state that the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) of the USDA did not have a justification for promulgating the COOL rule until AMI brought suit in July. They also contend that the rule exceeds the statutory authority of the AMS because it is not only a labeling regulation, but also interferes with meat production practices due to the ban of commingling of livestock born or raised in different countries. Plaintiffs assert that the rule is causing irreparable injury to their membership which will be furthered by enforcement of the rule. Enforcement is scheduled to begin on November 24, 2013.

For the lower court’s ruling denying a preliminary injunction, please see our September 19 blog post. For more information about the law suit, see our July 9 blog post. For more information on COOL generally, see our May 30 blog post.

 

Written by Sarah L. Doyle - Research Assistant

The Agricultural Law Resource and Reference Center

@PSUAgLawCenter

September 28, 2013