Supreme Court sides with vaping industry in rejecting FDA venue challenge
Share this @internewscast.com


The Supreme Court sided with the vaping industry on Friday by rejecting the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) bid to limit where companies can challenge product marketing denials. 

The 7-2 decision authored by Justice Amy Coney Barrett enables R.J. Reynolds Vapor Company to proceed in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, regarded as the nation’s most conservative appeals court, in the company’s bid to market its “Vuse Alto” flavored e-cigarette products by suing alongside retailers.

The 5th Circuit has been more friendly to the industry, but the company still may face a tough road ahead, as the justices earlier this term rebuked the 5th Circuit’s approach in a similar case. 

Two of the court’s liberal justices, Ketanji Brown Jackson and Sonia Sotomayor, dissented from Friday’s decision. 

Under federal law, “any person adversely affected” by the FDA denying a tobacco or e-cigarette marketing application can petition the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., or where they have their principal place of business. 

R.J. Reynolds is based in North Carolina, which is covered by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. But both that court and the one in D.C. have rejected the company’s legal theory that the FDA acted arbitrarily and capriciously in denying the authorization because it changed the evidentiary standard. 

The 5th Circuit, however, which covers Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, has been more friendly to the industry.  

So the company sought review there, joined by a Texas retail store that sells Vuse Alto products and a Mississippi trade association of gas stations and convenience stores. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the federal government’s appeal after the 5th Circuit refused to transfer the case. 

“Because Avail Vapor and the trade association have their principal places of business in Texas and Mississippi, respectively, they could both file in the Fifth Circuit. So when it denied the FDA’s motion to dismiss or transfer, the Fifth Circuit correctly concluded that at least one proper petitioner had venue,” Barrett wrote. 

In dissent, Jackson said the statute does not allow retailers to sue.

“And, here, all the usual tools of statutory interpretation point in the same direction: Congress established a detailed scheme for manufacturers to obtain authorization to market new tobacco products—a scheme within which retailers have no rights and play no role—and, in the context of that scheme, Congress provided a cause of action for the protection of the manufacturers’ statutorily created interests,” Jackson wrote.

The case now returns to the lower courts, but the companies may still face a steep path to getting their product approved. In another case decided earlier this term, the Supreme Court found the FDA acted lawfully in rejecting two other vaping companies’ applications, reversing the 5th Circuit’s contrary decision. 

“In today’s decision, the Supreme Court recognized that federal agency action can have downstream effects that can be devastating for parties that are not the most direct target of the agency’s action. The Court’s decision ensures that the courthouse doors are not closed for those adversely affected parties,” Ryan Watson, a partner at Jones Day who argued the case on behalf of the companies, said in a statement.

Updated at 11:50 a.m. EDT

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like

U.S. Prepares for Next Year’s Major Event with Club World Cup Trial

Two of the world’s most renowned soccer teams are set to clash…

AI Recruiters: The Future of Job Interviews

Wafa Shafiq, a 26-year-old Canadian marketing professional and lifestyle influencer, has been…

Antifa Accused of Exposing ICE Officers’ Personal Info in Portland, Reports DHS

() Two Oregon-based organizations that the Department of Homeland Security says are reportedly…

The State Department is letting go of more than 1,300 staff as part of a strategy from the Trump administration.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) The U.S. State Department is firing more than…

Two Arrested in Bulloch County Drug Raid, Half-Pound of Fentanyl Pills Seized

The Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office in Statesboro, Georgia, wrapped up their week…

State Department Warns Employees of Imminent Layoff Notices

WASHINGTON (AP) The State Department formally advised staffers Thursday that it would…

UPDATE: I-74E Reopens in DeWitt County After Three-Vehicle Accident

Update at 8 p.m. FARMER CITY, Ill. (WCIA) — Interstate 74 Eastbound…

Barbecue and Country Music Shine at Windy City Smokeout Festival

() Chicago’s award-winning Windy City Smokeout is heating up as performers and…

Immigration Raid Leads to Arrests: Farmworkers Detained and Tear Gas Used on Protesters

Editor’s note: affiliate KTLA reached out to the U.S. Department of Homeland…

DC City Council Special Election: Key Insights and Expectations

WASHINGTON – A special election is taking place in southeast Washington, D.C.,…

Rep. Jasmine Crockett Criticizes Trump Administration’s Response to Texas Floods: ‘Common Sense Isn’t So Common!’

IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site…

Two Migrants Caught, 14 Rescued from Storm Drain in El Paso

EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) Two migrants were apprehended, and 14 others were…