In Re Aurora Dairy Corp. Organic Milk Marketing
| Decision Date | 15 September 2010 |
| Docket Number | No. 09-2762.,09-2762. |
| Parties | In re AURORA DAIRY CORP. ORGANIC MILK MARKETING AND SALES PRACTICES LITIGATION. Kristine Mothershead, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated; Leonie Lloyd, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Appellants, v. Aurora Organic Dairy, doing business as Aurora Organic Dairy; Quality Assurance International, Inc.; Case Vander Eyk, Jr., doing business as Case Vander Eyk, Jr. Dairy; Publix Super Markets, Inc., Appellees, Robert Edward Koch, individually and on behalf of those similarly situated, Appellant, v. Aurora Dairy Corporation; Quality Assurance International, Inc.; Case Vander Eyk, Jr., doing business as Case Vander Eyk, Jr. Dairy; Publix Super Markets, Inc., Appellees, Maya Fiallos, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Appellant, v. Aurora Dairy Corporation, doing business as Aurora Organic Dairy; Quality Assurance International, Inc.; Case Vander Eyk, Jr., doing business as Case Vander Eyk, Jr. Dairy; Publix Super Markets, Inc., Appellees, Rebecca Freyre, on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated; Fernanado Freyre, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated, Appellants, v. Aurora Dairy Corporation; Quality Assurance International, Inc.; Case Vander Eyk, Jr., doing business as Case Vander Eyk, Jr. Dairy; Publix Super Markets, Inc., Appellees, Mona Still; Helen Phillips; Eve Hana; Jeanmarie Zirger; Kim King; Noelle Fincham; Oksana Jensen; Gabriela Waschewsky; Laurelanne Davis; Debbie Millikan; Joan Scheutz; Sandie Regan; Steve Shriver; Mary Elbertai; Eileen Ptak; Cynthia Roche-Cotter; Kristen Finnegan; Amy Forsman; Joy Beckner; Naomi Mardock; Olive Knaus; Liana Hoodes; Donita Robinson; Ilene Rachford; Lisa Hopkins; Caryn Poirier; Erin Diserens; Tammy Coselli; Debra Haines; Debra Schmidt; Hans Kueck, Appellants, v. Aurora Dairy Corporation, doing business as Aurora Organic Dairy; Quality Assurance International, Inc.; Case Vander Eyk, Jr., doing business as Case Vander Eyk, Jr. Dairy; Publix Super Markets, Inc., Appellees, Ilsa Lee Kaye, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Appellant, v. Aurora Dairy Corp., doing business as Aurora Organic Dairy; Quality Assurance International, Inc.; Case Vander Eyk, Jr., doing business as Case Vander Eyk, Jr. Dairy; Publix Super Markets, Inc., Appellees, Patrick Hudspeth, individually and on behalf of a class of all others similarly situated; Caryn Hudspeth, individually and on behalf of a class of all others similarly situated, Appellants, v. Target Corp.; Quality Assurance International, Inc.; Case Vander Eyk, Jr., doing business as Case Vander Eyk, Jr. Dairy; Publix Super Markets, Inc., Appellees, Paul Bowen, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Appellant, v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.; Quality Assurance International, Inc.; Case Vander Eyk, Jr., doing business as Case Vander Eyk, Jr. Dairy; Publix Super Markets, Inc., Appellees, Elizabeth Cockrell, individually and on behalf of a class of all others similarly situated, Appellant, v. Aurora Dairy Corporation, doing business as Aurora Organic Dairy; Quality Assurance International, Inc.; Case Vander Eyk, Jr., doing business as Case Vander Eyk, Jr. Dairy; Publix Super Markets, Inc., Appellees, Jim Snell; Steve Clark; John Barrera; Joseph Villari; Elida Gollomp; Claire M. Theodore; Elizabeth Banse, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, Appellants, v. Aurora Dairy Corporation, doing business as Aurora Organic Dairy; Wild Oats Market, Inc.; Costco Wholesale Corporation; Safeway, Inc.; Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.; Quality Assurance International, Inc.; Case Vander Eyk, Jr., doing business as Case Vander Eyk, Jr. Dairy; Publix Super Markets, Inc.; Whole Foods Market Group, Inc., Appellees, Vicki M. Tysseling-Mattiace, individually and on behalf of a class of all other similarly situated, Appellant, v. Wild Oats Market, Inc.; Quality Assurance International, Inc.; Case Vander Eyk, Jr., doing business as Case Vander Eyk, Jr. Dairy; Publix Super Markets, Inc.; Whole Foods Market Group, Inc., Appellees, Margot A. West, individually and on behalf of a class of all others similarly situated; Richard E. Ehly, individually and on behalf of a class of all others similarly situated, Appellants, v. Aurora Dairy Corporation, doing business as Aurora Organic Dairy; Quality Assurance International, Inc.; Case Vander Eyk, Jr., doing business as Case Vander Eyk, Jr. Dairy; Publix Super Markets, Inc., Appellees, Channing Hesse, individually and on behalf of a class of all others similarly situated, Appellant, v. Costco Wholesale Corporation, a Washington corporation; Quality Assurance International, Inc.; Case Vander Eyk, Jr., doing business as Case Vander Eyk, Jr. Dairy; Publix Super Markets, Inc., Appellees, Hillary White, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated; Lynn Michalson, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Appellants, v. Aurora Dairy Corp., doing business as Aurora Organic Dairy; Publix Super Markets, Inc., Appellee, Fayetta Cowan, Appellant, v. Aurora Dairy Corporation, doing business as Aurora Organic Dairy; Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.; Publix Super Markets, Inc., Appellees, Nicolle DiSimone, individually and on behalf those similarly situated, Appellant, v. Aurora Dairy Corporation, doing business as Aurora Organic Dairy; Case Vander Eyk, Jr., doing business as Case Vander Eyk, Jr. Dairy; QAI, Inc., doing business as Quality Assurance International, Inc.; Does, 1-100, inclusive; Publix Super Markets, Inc., Appellees, Brenda Gallardo, Appellant, v. Aurora Dairy Corporation, a Delaware Corporation, doing business as Aurora Organic Dairy, Appellee, Shawn Riley, individually and on behalf all others similarly situated, Appellant, v. Safeway, Inc., Appellee, Theadora King, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Appellant, v. Safeway, Inc., Appellee. Public Citizen, Inc.; The Center for Food Safety and Organic Consumers Association; The Humane Society of the United States, Amici on behalf of Appellants, The Organic Trade Association; Grocery Manufacturers Association, Amici on behalf of Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit |
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Craig R. Spiegel, argued, Seattle, WA, (Don M. Downing, Gretchen Garrison, and Thomas K. Neill, St. Louis, MO, Elizabeth A. Fegan and Daniel J. Kurowski, Oak Park, IL, on the briefs), for Appellant.
Jay W. Connolly, San Francisco, CA, Jon P. Kardassakis, Los Angeles, CA, Mark S. Mester, of Chicago, IL, argued, (Bryan D. LeMoine, St. Louis, MO, Mark S. Mester, Livia M. Kiser, Chicago, IL, Johnathan C. Miesen, Minneapolis, MN, and Patrick M. McCarthy, Ann Arbor, MI, on the briefs), for Appellees.
Before RILEY, Chief Judge, 1 SMITH and SHEPHERD, Circuit Judges.
In this appeal we are called upon to determine whether, and to what extent, the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (OFPA), 7 U.S.C. § 6501 et seq., preempts state consumer protection law. The OFPA establishes national standards for the sale and labeling of organically produced agricultural products, and creates a certification program through which agricultural producers may become certified to produce organic products. The OFPA also provides for the accreditation of certification agents, who inspect producers and make recommendations to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regarding certification. Pursuant to the OFPA, the USDA promulgated regulations, known as the National Organic Program (NOP), 7 C.F.R. pt. 205, defining which agricultural products qualify as organic.
One certifying agent, QAI, Inc. (QAI), certified Aurora Dairy Corporation's (Aurora) dairy farm to produce organic milk. Aurora's certified organic milk was later sold to consumers at retail stores owned by Costco Wholesale Corporation (Costco), Safeway Inc. (Safeway), Target Corporation (Target), Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (Wal-Mart), and Wild Oats Markets, Inc. (Wild Oats) (collectively, the retailers), under the retailers' store brands or Aurora's “High Meadow” brand.
Various plaintiffs (collectively, class plaintiffs) brought nineteen class action lawsuits on behalf of organic milk consumers against Aurora, the retailers, and QAI (collectively, appellees) in federal district courts throughout the nation, claiming violations of state law arising from Aurora's alleged failure to comply with the OFPA and NOP. The United States Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation (JPMDL) consolidated these cases in the Eastern District of Missouri. The district court granted appellees' motions to dismiss, finding the OFPA preempted all of the class plaintiffs' claims, and this appeal followed. We affirm in part and reverse in part.
I. BACKGROUND
Dissatisfied with the patchwork of state regulation governing organic products that existed in the 1980s, Congress enacted the OFPA in order “(1) to establish national standards governing the marketing of certain agricultural products as organically produced products; (2) to assure consumers that organically produced products meet a consistent standard; and (3) to facilitate interstate commerce in fresh and processed food that is organically produced.” 7 U.S.C. § 6501 (emphasis omitted). Congress intended the OFPA would establish a uniform standard “so that farmers know the rules, so that consumers are sure to get what they pay for, and so that national and international trade in organic foods may prosper.” S. Rep. 101-357 (1990) (reprinted in 1990 U.S.C.C.A.N. 4656, 4943).
The OFPA provides that “a person may sell or label an agricultural product as organically produced only if such product is produced and handled in accordance with” the OFPA. 7 U.S.C. § 6505(a)(1)(A). The OFPA creates a certification program, requiring producers of agricultural products...
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