A federal court in Maryland has permitted groups representing environmental and fishing interests to intervene in litigation filed by Dow AgroSciences LLC and two other pesticide manufacturers against the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), seeking to overturn the agency’s opinion that three insecticides threaten the Pacific salmon. Dow AgroSciences LLC v. Nat’l Marine Fisheries Serv., No. 09-00824 (D. Md., order entered August 23, 2011). In March 2011, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals determined that NMFS’s biological opinion on the effects of chlorpyrifos, diazinon and malathion was judicially reviewable action under the Administrative Procedure Act, thus allowing the companies, which hold registrations for the insecticides from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to challenge the action before the district court. NMFS apparently provided the biological opinion to EPA in 2008 as part of EPA’s process of reregistering the insecticides for sale and use; they were first registered in the 1950s and…
Tag Archives Maryland
Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley (D) has signed a bill (H.B. 4/S.B. 151) prohibiting the manufacture, sale or distribution of infant formula containers with a “certain amount” of bisphenol A (BPA). Effective July 1, 2014, the legislation restricts BPA levels in the containers to not more than 0.5 parts per billion and prohibits the state from purchasing containers with BPA levels exceeding that amount. Offenders of the law would be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to fines as high as $10,000 for each violation. The law also calls for the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to report to lawmakers by September 1, 2012, on BPA federal research findings and regulatory activities and to address the availability and safety of BPA substitutes for infant formula containers. It authorizes the state health secretary to suspend implementation of the BPA restriction on infant formula containers if “the secretary certifies that the…
Maryland’s attorney general (AG), joined by the AGs of 17 states and the territory of Guam, have expressed to Pabst Brewing Co. concerns over the company’s “new flavored malt beverage, Blast by Colt 45,” characterizing it as a “flavored ‘binge in a can.’” In his April 21, 2011, letter, Attorney General Douglas Gansler alleges that selling a fruit-flavored beverage with an alcohol concentration of 12 percent in brightly colored 23.5 ounce cans, “poses a grave public safety threat and is irresponsible.” He contends that the target market includes underage consumers, “in violation of state law.” According to Ganlser, each can contains 4.7 servings of alcohol and, if consumed quickly as intended, an individual “will have engaged in binge drinking, putting himself or herself at risk of serious injury and other health and safety problems.” The AGs call on Pabst’s CEO to “take immediate steps to significantly reduce the number of servings…
The Baltimore City Health Department has reportedly issued its first environmental citation for repeat violations of the city’s trans fat ban. According to an October 25, 2010, press release, the department fined Healthy Choice $100 after inspectors twice found the Lexington Market food vendor using “a margarine product with trans fat levels in excess of 0.5 grams per serving.” “Businesses can make it easier for people to live healthier lives by simply replacing the use of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil with a healthier alternative,” Baltimore’s health commissioner was quoted as saying. “While we are pleased with the high rates of compliance we’ve seen since the ban took effect, we will continue to sanction businesses that repeatedly fail to comply.” See City of Baltimore Health Department Press Release, October 25, 2010.
A federal court in Maryland has determined that it is not a convenient forum for the pursuit of claims by Chinese citizens seeking millions in compensation for the injuries allegedly caused by their children’s consumption of powdered milk formula and similar products tainted with melamine. Tang v. Synutra Int’l, Inc., No. 09-0088 (D. Md., decided March 29, 2010). The scandal led to a global recall of powdered milk products and resulted in the execution of several milk company officials found responsible for adding melamine to the products, purportedly to increase their protein content. The melamine allegedly caused the deaths of six infants and caused kidney stones and related injury to thousands of others. The government established a compensation program for affected families, but some sought increased damages in Chinese courts. The defendants filed a motion to dismiss on the ground of forum non conveniens, and the court discussed at length…
Acting on behalf of environmental interest groups, a University of Maryland School of Law student clinic has filed a lawsuit against a chicken farmer and the company that owns and processes the farm’s chickens, alleging that the farm’s poultry waste is being discharged into and polluting navigable waters of the United States in violation of the Clean Water Act. Assateague Coastkeeper v. Alan & Kristin Hudson Farm, No. 10-487 (D. Md., filed March 1, 2010). The plaintiffs purportedly tested downstream waters and found high levels of fecal coliform and E. coli bacteria, as well as nitrogen, phosphorus and ammonia. They allege that the water carried from the farm eventually empties into the Chesapeake Bay. In response to the lawsuit, the Maryland Legislature reportedly approved a measure that requires the clinic to disclose its clients and budgets from the preceding two years. An early version of the bill would have penalized the university…
Multidistrict litigation (MDL) plaintiffs who challenged claims that Tyson products were made from “chickens raised without antibiotics” have sought approval of a settlement reached with the company. In re: Tyson Foods Inc., Chicken Raised Without Antibiotics Consumer Litigation, MDL No. 1982 (D. Md., motion filed January 12, 2010). Under the terms of the settlement, Tyson will pay up to $5 million to three tiers of plaintiffs: those who can provide receipts (they can recover up to $50); those who can estimate how much they spent on the products, how often they purchased them and where the purchases were made (they can recover up to $10) and those who simply claim they purchased the product at least once and submit a claim for a $5 coupon instead of cash. Four named plaintiffs in the suits consolidated before the MDL court for pre-trial proceedings and four class members who were deposed will receive…
A U.S. attorney in Maryland has filed a complaint for injunction against a dairy operation and its owner seeking to stop their alleged long-term misuse of antibiotics in animals that were sold for consumption. United States v. Old Carolina Farm, No. __ (D. Md., filed November 3, 2009). According to the complaint, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration and Maryland Department of Agriculture investigations since the mid-1990s showed that drug residues in the tissues of animals the defendants sold exceeded established limits for a number of antibiotics. Contending that consumers of such meats “may experience severe allergic reactions” or develop “antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria,” the complaint alleges that the dairy’s owner ran afoul of the law essentially because he failed and refused to maintain treatment or drug inventory records. The U.S. government seeks permanent injunctive relief to stop the dairy from introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce and from…
12
