Consumer Interest Groups Denied Intervention in Lawsuit Challenging Vermont GMO-Labeling Law
A federal court has denied Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG)
and the Center for Food Safety’s (CFS’s) motion to intervene in a lawsuit
challenging Vermont’s statute requiring food manufacturers to label their
products if they contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Grocery
Mfrs. Ass’n v. Sorrell, No. 14-0117 (U.S. Dist. Ct., D. Vt., order entered October
7, 2014). In their motion to intervene, the consumer groups argued that they
had a right to be involved in the litigation because if Act 120 were held to be
unconstitutional, it would “injure their organizational missions, their advocacy
efforts, and the personal interests of their members.” In addition, they asserted
that the state’s financial and human resources were insufficient to defend the
law.
In response, the court cited a Sixth Circuit decision holding that, according
to the district court’s summary, “a public interest group does not have a
separate interest sufficient to intervene in a challenge to the constitutionality
of an enacted statute because, in such circumstances, the public’s interest is
entrusted to the government.” Finding that while VPIRG and CFS had shown
that they had significant interests in the lawsuit, the court said that they had
not proved they were necessary parties to the litigation. It also found that the
state’s advocacy of the law was adequate because the state’s representatives
had assured the court that Vermont would “vigorously defend Act 120” and
had sufficient financial resources to do so.
Despite the denial of their intervention, VPIRG and CFS were granted the
rights to file memoranda as amicus curiae without seeking further permission
from the court. “We’re very pleased to be granted the opportunity to
help defend the GMO labeling law from attack by corporate interests,” said
Paul Burns, executive director of VPIRG, in an October 8, 2014, press release.
Additional information on the lawsuit appears in Issue 526 of this Update, and
details about the law’s passage appear in Issue 521 of this Update.
Issue 540
