By David McLaughlin -
Oct 13, 2012 12:01 AM ET
The American Beverage Association,
calling
New York City’s ban on the sale of large sugary drinks
an “unprecedented interference” with consumer choice, sued to
block enforcement of the measure.
The decision by the city’s Board of Health to approve the
ban was overreaching and ignored the rights of New Yorkers to
make their own choices, the association and other groups said in
a petition filed yesterday in state supreme court in Manhattan.
“The ban at issue in this case burdens consumers and
unfairly harms small businesses at a time when we can ill afford
it,” they said. “Defendants do not have the legal authority to
adopt this beverage ban, and it is arbitrary and capricious in
its design and application.”
The board in September approved Mayor
Michael Bloomberg’s
plan to restrict sales of sugary soft drinks to no more than 16
ounces a cup in restaurants, movie theaters, stadiums and
arenas. The law is scheduled to go into effect in March.
The ban doesn’t apply to
convenience stores and groceries
that don’t act primarily as purveyors of prepared foods, which
are regulated by New York state. The rules allow consumers to
buy as many of the smaller drinks as they want and to get
refills.
‘Baseless’ Lawsuit
“The Board of Health absolutely has the authority to
regulate matters affecting health, and the obesity crisis
killing nearly 6,000 New Yorkers a year -- and impacting the
lives of thousands more -- unquestionably falls under its
purview,”
Marc LaVorgna, a spokesman for the mayor, said in an
e-mailed statement.
“This predictable, yet baseless, lawsuit fortunately will
help put an even greater spotlight on the obesity epidemic, the
only preventable public health issue getting worse in America,”
LaVorgna said.
Besides the American Beverage Association, other groups
that filed the Article 78 petition include the National
Restaurant Association and the National Association of Theatre
Owners of New York State.
The mayor is the majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent
of
Bloomberg News.
The case is New York Statewide Coalition of Hispanic
Chambers of Commerce v. the New York City Department of Health
and Mental Hygiene, 653584-2012, New York State Supreme Court
(Manhattan).
To contact the reporter on this story:
David McLaughlin in New York at
dmclaughlin9@bloomberg.net
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