FILE: New York City's plan to ban large sugary drinks from restaurants and other eateries was an illegal overreach of executive power, a state appeals court ruled upholding a lower court decision in March that struck down the law

Record ID: 566412

  • Title: FILE: New York City's plan to ban large sugary drinks from restaurants and other eateries was an illegal overreach of executive power, a state appeals court ruled upholding a lower court decision in March that struck down the law
  • Date: 30th July 2013
  • Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FILE) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF LARGE SODA BOTTLES ON STORE SHELVES
  • Embargoed: 14th August 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Legal System,Business,Health,Industry
  • Reuters ID: LVA2S4VW6DFNPKPAOA76L2R1MKH9
  • Story Text: New York City's plan to ban large sugary drinks from restaurants and other eateries was an illegal overreach of executive power, a state appeals court ruled on Tuesday (July 30), upholding a lower court decision in March that struck down the law.
    The law, which would have prohibited those businesses from selling sodas and other sugary beverages larger than 16 ounces, "violated the state principle of separation of powers," the First Department of the state Supreme Court's Appellate Division said in a unanimous decision.
    The decision was a blow to Mayor Michael Bloomberg who had advanced the regulation as a way to combat obesity among city residents, calling it, "The single biggest step any city I think has ever taken to curb obesity."
    Beverage makers and business groups, however, challenged it in court, arguing that the mayoral-appointed health board had overstepped its authority when it approved the law.
    A four-judge panel at the appeals court agreed, finding that the board had gone beyond its power to regulate public health and usurped the role of the legislature.
    In particular, the court focused on the law's many loopholes, which exempted businesses not under the auspices of the city's health department. As a result, grocery and convenience stores - such as 7 Eleven and its 64-ounce Big Gulp - were protected from the ban's reach.
    State Supreme Court Justice Milton Tingling struck down the law in March, a day before it was to take effect, calling it "arbitrary and capricious." At the time, Bloomberg said the ruling was "totally in error" and expressed confidence that the city would prevail on appeal.
    The city can still ask the state's high court, the Court of Appeals, to take up the issue, though the court is not bound to do so.

    "Today's decision is a temporary setback, and we plan to appeal this decision as we continue the fight against the obesity epidemic," Bloomberg said in a statement.
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