Need to Know Extra: Federal court in NY recognizes CRN ‘standing’ to sue in age restriction case

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Federal court in NY recognizes CRN ‘standing’ to sue in age restriction case, denies motion for preliminary injunction

A federal judge in New York state's age restriction law case has ruled that CRN has standing to sue on behalf of its members, allowing the case to move forward. A motion for a preliminary injunction that would have delayed the law from going into effect was, however, denied late last week.

• The New York law, passed in 2023, officially took effect April 22. 

In acknowledging that a preliminary injunction is “an extraordinary and drastic remedy,” the court held that issuing the temporary injunction was not in the public interest. 

• CRN’s request for a permanent injunction, however, remains before the court and CRN will file a motion for clarification regarding points raised by the judge’s preliminary injunction opinion later this week. 

Why it matters: This decision means that, barring further legal developments, the state can begin enforcing the age restriction law. The law prohibits the sale of certain dietary supplements that the state considers to be “labeled, marketed, or otherwise represented” for weight loss or muscle building to individuals under the age of 18. 

Yes, but: CRN has argued that the law will do nothing to protect young consumers from eating disorders but infringes on the constitutional rights of consumers, retailers, and marketers of legal supplements because it is so vague and subjective as to allow truthful, lawful claims for dietary supplements to be infringed.

Go deeper: "The announcement that we have standing is significant because it means that only CRN is positioned right now to go before the court on behalf of industry and argue the merits of what we believe is a strong case,” said CRN President and CEO Steve Mister. “As for the preliminary injunction, we knew that asking for such extraordinary relief was a longshot, although we respectfully disagree with the court. 

What’s next: Mister added, “We will continue to pursue all available legal avenues to challenge this law and continue to believe it unfairly restricts consumer access to legitimate, beneficial health products and infringes upon the rights of businesses to engage in lawful commerce.”

See additional details on CRN’s court filings in the New York case on our website.