FDA, Cigar Industry Due Back in Court in October

The cigar industry is due back in court, two courts actually, in October to continue its legal fight against the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA).

On Oct. 1, oral arguments regarding a motion to dismiss summary judgment for broader parts of the lawsuit will take place in front of U.S. district court judge Amit P. Mehta, the same judge that has overseen the D.C.-based lawsuit.

The two sides were previously expected to be in court on July 31, but that hearing was rescheduled at the last minute for unspecific reasons. The Oct. 1 hearing will largely focus on substantial equivalence.

It is likely that the hearing will also include arguments about whether the court should invalidate a ruling from a Maryland-based federal court that would change the date substantial equivalence is due from August 2021 to May 12, 2020.

In addition, on Oct. 24, the D.C. Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear arguments regarding just the warning label portion of the case. Last May, Mehta ruled in favor of FDA in regards to the cigar industry’s claims to the warning label portion of the case.

As of now, the Oct. 1 hearing is set for 2 p.m., while the Oct. 24 hearing will be at 9:30 a.m.

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.