Litigation is an important tool to defend and advance public health policy. This tracker provides information and official court documents from select lawsuits within the focus areas of the Public Health Law Center, including commercial tobacco control and healthy eating. Some cases are relevant to cross-cutting issues that affect public health, such as preemption and First Amendment considerations. The Public Health Law Center has supported public health goals as an amicus curiae, or friend-of-the-court, by filing briefs (included here) with relevant information that the court may choose to consider. You can read more about the Function and Role of Amicus Briefs in Public Health Litigation.
Public Health Topics
Displaying 11 - 20 of 93

California Restaurant Association v. City of Berkeley (2019)

The California Restaurant Association (CRA) challenged the City of Berkeley's January 2020 amendment to the Berkeley Municipal Code (BMC), which prohibits natural gas infrastructure in most newly constructed buildings within Berkeley.

State

California

Most Recent Activity

Status

Open

Swisher International vs US Food and Drug Administration, et al (2021)

Swisher, International (Swisher) is a manufacturer of flavored cigars and little cigars. In 2016 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued the Deeming Rule, which among other products deemed cigars and little cigars to be under FDA regulatory oversight. FDA stated that the newly-deemed products could remain on shelves while manufacturers submitted their premarket tobacco product applications (PMTA).

State

Florida

Most Recent Activity

Status

Pending

Wages and White Lion Investments v. FDA (2021)

Wages and White Lion, and Vapetasia LLC, manufacturer of flavored nicotine-containing e-liquids for use in open-system e-cigarette devices, sought market authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to continue to make and sell their products. FDA denied the request

State

Washington D.C.

Most Recent Activity

Status

Pending

Prior Lake Tobacco and Vape, Inc. v. City of Prior Lake (2021)

On April 5, 2021, the City of Prior Lake enacted an ordinance that prohibits the sale of flavored electronic delivery devices (e-cigarettes). Prior Lake Tobacco and Vape, Inc., is a vape and tobacco shop that received a license to sell tobacco products in Prior Lake in December of 2020. The business sued the City after it enacted the ordinance, alleging that the Ordinance would destroy its business and that it is unconstitutionally vague, among other things.

State

Minnesota

Most Recent Activity

Status

Pending