Litigation
Introduction
The legal system in the United States is based on the common law tradition. This tradition originated in England and is premised on the notion that judges interpret the law and apply the law to the facts of the case before them.[1] The law that applies to a particular case can be legislation, regulation, or case law. One unique aspect of the common law system is that judges refer to previous cases, called precedent, to determine how they should apply the law to the facts of a subsequent case. Legal precedent creates case law and is binding on judges in lower courts.
Litigation in the United States is relatively expensive and time consuming. A lawsuit is initiated by a plaintiff against a defendant. Both parties are typically represented by a lawyer or a team of lawyers depending on the significance of the case. The plaintiff files a Complaint with the court arguing that the defendant violated the law and this violation harmed the plaintiff. Most cases involve an individual or small group of related plaintiffs, but when a large group of people have the same complaint against a defendant, they initiate a class action lawsuit. In all civil litigation, the parties each file at least one brief detailing the facts of the case, presenting the court with the relevant law, and arguing why the court should find in their favor by applying the law to the facts of their case. If the case is not dismissed, which happens when the plaintiffs’ arguments do not amount to an actual legal violation, the parties proceed to discovery. Discovery is the process of obtaining information and evidence from the opposing party. The parties exchange documents that substantively address the issues to be resolved in the case. The parties’ respective legal counsel also may request the opposing party to answer written questions (interrogatories) or oral questions (at a deposition). Each of the parties then asks the judge to rule in its favor through a motion for summary judgment. If the parties agree on the facts of the case, the judge will apply the law to those facts and rule on the case. If the facts are in dispute, the case will go to trial before the same judge and the judge or a jury will decide which version of the facts is accurate. Often the parties will settle the case before trial due to the expense of litigation and the risks involved with losing. Parties can settle at any time over the course of the litigation, but most settle before trial. If the case goes to trial, the prevailing party may obtain damages, which is money, or injunctive relief, which is an order for the defendant to cease or refrain from acting in the manner found to violate the law. The losing party often appeals the case to a court of appeals, which examines the proceedings that transpired in the trial court to determine whether the law was applied appropriately to the facts of the case. If a party is dissatisfied with the outcome in the appellate court, it may petition the state’s highest court if the case is in state court, or the United States Supreme Court, if it is in federal court. These courts determine whether they will hear the case and accept relatively few. It can take many years to get to a final resolution of just one case.
Litigation has played a starring role in legal disputes against, among, and by the food industry. This indicates that the law is unsettled or evolving in many areas. There are a number of reasons for this. First, many laws were enacted quite a few years ago and modern practices reveal gaps in the law or create conditions that either the food industry or consumers dislike. An example of this is the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 (NLEA), under which many labeling disputes take place both between consumers and companies and between two different companies. Another reason for the increase in litigation is that the rise in obesity rates created new issues and led public health advocates to engage in a more in-depth examination of the food environment. Consumer advocacy groups, private plaintiffs, and a handful of state attorneys general seek to rectify situations they believe are unjust by using the court system. Finally, government entities have responded to the changes in the state and local food environment by enacting novel laws to regulate food businesses, which in turn sue the government entity to avoid enforcement of the law.
Several types of litigation will be explored below, including litigation against the food industry, litigation between food industry companies, litigation initiated by the food industry against individuals, and various types of litigation against the government.
- [1] The one exception in the United States is the state of Louisiana, which predominantly relieson the civil law tradition with its roots in ancient Roman law. Louisiana was a territory of Franceand Spain, where the civil law tradition exists and from which Louisiana’s laws stem. (See, Viterbov. Friedlander, 120 U.S. 707 (1887)). This method is based primarily on a civil code that is intendedto capture a more comprehensive set of issues and refers less to case law. Litigation discussed in thischapter is based on the common law system.
