Philip Morris challenged the Department of Agriculture's decision to use tax rates from 2003 instead of current tax rates. In this decision, the court concluded that the decision was a permissible interpretation of the statute. Nothing from the text of the statute or in Congress's actions indicated that the Department intended otherwise, or that the Department's interpretation was unreasonable. The court affirmed the district court's grant of the Department's motion for summary judgment.
Philip Morris USA, Inc. v. Vilsack, No. 12-2498 (4th Cir. 2013)
United States
Nov 20, 2013
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Tobacco companies or front groups may challenge any legislative or regulatory measure that affects their business interests. Unlike public interest litigation, these cases seek to weaken health measures. These cases frequently involve the industry proceeding against the government. For example, a group of restaurant owners challenging a smoke free law as unconstitutional.
Subsequent regulations exceed the scope of the originating law.
Type of Tobacco Product
None
Limitations regarding the use of quotes The quotes provided here reflect statements from a specific decision. Accordingly, the International Legal Consortium (ILC) cannot guarantee that an appellate court has not reversed a lower court decision which may influence the applicability or influence of a given quote. All quotes have been selected based on the subjective evaluations undertaken by the ILC meaning that quotes provided here may not accurately or comprehensively represent a given court’s opinion or conclusion, as such quotes may have originally appeared alongside other negative opinions or accompanying facts. Further, some quotes are derived from unofficial English translations, which may alter their original meaning. We emphasize the need to review the original decision and related decisions before authoritatively relying on quotes. Using quotes provided here should not be construed as legal advice and is not intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter in any jurisdiction. Please see the full limitations at https://www.tobaccocontrollaws.org/about.
"We therefore conclude that USDA's decision to make use of only 2003 tax rates in computing the inter-class assessment allocation under 7 U.S.C. 518d(c)(2) is a permissible interpretation of FETRA. There is no clear indication in the text of the statute, or in Congress's prior or subsequent action, that Congress intended for USDA to take a different course. There is similarly no basis for concluding that USDA filled that gap with an unreasonable interpretation. The district court's decision granting USDA's motion for summary judgment is AFFIRMED."
Limitations regarding the use of quotes The quotes provided here reflect statements from a specific decision. Accordingly, the International Legal Consortium (ILC) cannot guarantee that an appellate court has not reversed a lower court decision which may influence the applicability or influence of a given quote. All quotes have been selected based on the subjective evaluations undertaken by the ILC meaning that quotes provided here may not accurately or comprehensively represent a given court’s opinion or conclusion, as such quotes may have originally appeared alongside other negative opinions or accompanying facts. Further, some quotes are derived from unofficial English translations, which may alter their original meaning. We emphasize the need to review the original decision and related decisions before authoritatively relying on quotes. Using quotes provided here should not be construed as legal advice and is not intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter in any jurisdiction. Please see the full limitations at https://www.tobaccocontrollaws.org/about.
Philip Morris challenged the Department of Agriculture's decision to use tax rates from 2003 instead of current tax rates. In this decision, the court concluded that the decision was a permissible interpretation of the statute. Nothing from the text of the statute or in Congress's actions indicated that the Department intended otherwise, or that the Department's interpretation was unreasonable. The court affirmed the district court's grant of the Department's motion for summary judgment.