Supreme Court Takes Up Question of Who Can Sue over Food Labels

The U.S. Supreme Court asked the Justice Department for advice on a bid by the nation's largest grocery chains to block customers from suing over violations of government food-labeling rules.

Supermarkets led by Cincinnati-based Kroger Co., Supervalu Inc. (the parent of Milford-based bigg's) and Safeway Inc. contend that only government regulators, and not customers, can enforce federal and state labeling laws. The companies are seeking to stop a suit accusing them of concealing that salmon they sold contained artificial coloring. The California Supreme Court cleared the customer suit to go forward.

In their appeal, the supermarkets said the California court ruling is "an open invitation to private plaintiffs nationwide to bring class actions" and will "wreck Congress' exclusive government enforcement scheme and all its built-in advantages."

The high court's request, directed to U.S. Solicitor General Greg Garre, signals that the justices might add the case to their 2008-09 docket. The court usually takes the solicitor general's advice on pending appeals.

A ruling in the grocers' favor would extend a line of Supreme Court decisions shielding companies from legal liability. In their most recent term, the justices barred some suits by shareholders and by patients harmed by medical devices. The court in November will consider whether to similarly restrict patient suits against drug makers.

The central question for the court in the new case is whether the U.S. Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, which governs food labeling at the federal level, bars private efforts to enforce similar state laws. The California Supreme Court concluded that Congress made a "conscious choice" to permit private suits.

Source: Bloomberg News