A federal judge in Los Angeles tossed out the Trump administration’s attempt to bring down the price of eggs by challenging California’s strict egg production laws March 18, finding the government failed to prove it suffered injury from the state laws.
“Rejecting Plaintiff’s sovereign injury theory aligns with sound jurisprudence,” Scarsi said.
The DOJ accused California’s restrictive egg laws of hurting working-class families across the United States by prohibiting farmers from using commonly accepted agricultural methods that helped keep eggs affordable.
Scarsi found the government failed to show how the laws impacted the federal government itself, however.
The judge also added that allowing the federal government to claim sovereign injury over each state law would create “potential for abuse of the federal courts for political purposes.”
“Americans across the country have suffered the consequences of liberal policies causing massive inflation for everyday items like eggs,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said at the time.
The DOJ didn’t return a request for comment about the judge’s dismissal or say whether the department plans to file an amended complaint.
The proposition, called the “Farm Animal Confinement Initiative,” prohibited the confinement of calves raised for veal, breeding pigs, and egg-laying hens.
“Today’s decision affirms that the Trump administration had no valid case against California’s voter-approved animal welfare laws,” Bonta said in his latest statement.
California was joined by several animal welfare groups in its motion to dismiss the case.
In the ruling, justices sent the case back to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit for more consideration and did not explain their decision.