Attorney General William HSorrell announced that the Plaintiffs who are seeking to invalidate Act 120, Vermont’s law requiring the labeling of food produced with genetic engineering (GE or GMO), are now asking the federal appeals court in New York City to rule on their request to halt the Vermont law. On April 27, 2015, the United States District Court for the District of Vermont denied Plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction in its entirety. Today, Plaintiffsappealedto the USCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit seeking to overturn the District Court’s decision.
No briefing schedule for the appeal has yet been set. However, it is likely that Plaintiffs will pursue some acceleration of the usual process. The normal timeframe for parties to complete their briefing and the court to schedule a date to hear oral argument at the appellate level can run from 7 to 9 months.
In last week’s decision, the District Court rejected Plaintiffs’ arguments that Act 120 should be put on hold, instead finding that Plaintiffs were not likely to prevail on the merits of their claims, including their challenge to the GE disclosure requirement or they had not proven they would experience irreparable harm if the law goes into effect on July 1, 2016. The State will argue that these rulings by the District Court should be upheld.
The State does not expect Plaintiffs’ appeal to delay the litigation of the District Court case. The Court retains its authority over the matter while the denial of the preliminary injunction is reviewed. The discovery process and trial preparation should continue to move forward on a reasonable schedule.
“This appeal was not entirely unexpected. We will now simultaneously continue this fight in the trial and appellate courts. Our goal is for the law to go into effect as scheduled on July 1, 2016,” said Attorney General Sorrell.
Source: Vermont AG May 6, 2015