In a post last June, FDA And Caffeine: Selective Regulation By Unsubtle Threat, we mentioned San Francisco Attorney Dennis Herrera’s suit against energy-drink maker Monster Beverage Corp. for allegedly marketing to children. This suit was in fact filed after Monster had already filed its own declaratory judgment action against Attorney Herrara on April 18. In it, Monster urged the District Court for the Central District of California to declare Herrara’s pre-suit actions, which included letters to Monster and FDA, in violation of the First Amendment and preempted by federal law.
On August 22, Judge Virginia Phillips rejected Herrara’s effort to dismiss Monster’s these claims. She found that Monster’s First Amendment claims regarding Herrara’s labeling demands were viable. She found that the warnings Herrara’s letter referenced were in addition to what FDA already requires, and would thus be preempted. She then ruled that the prudential doctrine of primary jurisdiction would also bar the warnings Herarra sought.
This past summer, Monster successfully removed Attorney Herrara’s May 6 lawsuit against the company to the Northern District of California. Monster is currently petitioning that court to transfer the suit to Judge Phillips’ chambers in the Central District, arguing that the claims and defenses in the Monster v. Herrara case are substantially similar to those in Herrera v. Monster.
Proponents of paternalism in and outside of government have seemingly chosen energy drinks as their poster child/whipping boy for targeting (non-coffee related) foods and beverages with caffeine. The need for regulatory action is debatable, but as we argued in June, an on-the-record process at FDA is by far preferable to bureaucratic sabre rattling. And it certainly is preferable to a City Attorney’s regulation by letter and lawsuit.