A day after Arizona, Louisiana, Michigan and Texas filed a joint amicus curiae brief opposing the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA)’s regulation of premium cigars, a second brief has been filed, this time by Cause of Action Institute, a non-profit that says its dedicated to ensuring government decision-making is open and fair.

Like the states, the group’s friend of the court brief is in opposition to the current regulation of premium cigars by FDA. In it, the group argues FDA overstepped its legal authority in two ways. First, it failed to adequately and correctly study the U.S. premium cigar market, which led to misinformed choices. Second, FDA failed to conduct a cost-benefit analysis.

“Simply put, FDA’s ‘Deeming Rule’ threatens to destroy a $20 billion industry and put at least 20,000 Americans out of work,” read the brief.

The brief was filed as part of the lawsuit brought by the Cigar Association of America (CAA), Cigar Rights of America (CRA) and the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) against FDA and the agency’s deeming regulations released last year.

Last week, attorneys for the three trade organizations filed for a motion of summary judgment centered around nine key points, two of which were the same points made in the brief filed by both the states and Cause of Action Institute.

A hearing on the lawsuit is scheduled for July 28, 2017.


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Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.