Grocery Manufacturers Association v. Sorrell

Case Updates

The case was dismissed due to federal legislative action.

In its brief, the U.S. Chamber filed in the Second Circuit in support of the Grocery Manufacturers Association’s challenge to a Vermont law that compels food manufacturers to disclose on product labels if the product is “produced with genetic engineering.” The brief urges the court to overturn the decision below, as the law is a clear infringement on manufacturers’ free speech rights. Specifically, the Chamber argues that the district court erred in failing to apply heightened scrutiny to the compelled speech. It further contends that the law cannot survive heightened scrutiny because (1) the state has not identified any interest sufficient to require businesses to to promote one side of a public policy debate, and (2) the labeling requirements are not reasonably tailored to the interests the state has identified.

Bert W. Rein, Megan L. Brown, and Jeremy J. Broggi of Wiley Rein LLP served as co-counsel to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on behalf of the U.S. Chamber Litigation Center in this case.