Florida tomato growers who lost hundreds of millions of
dollars over a federal government food-safety warning have lost their lawsuit
to recover their losses.
Their lawyer says he will file an appeal.
Judge Lynn J. Bush wrote decided that “advisory
pronouncements, even those with significant financial impact on the
marketplace, are not enough to effect a taking of property under the Fifth
Amendment.”
In a 13-page decision quietly issued Thursday, Bush
concluded that “although a wide range of government actions may give rise to
regulatory takings,” these actions do not extend to “press releases and
consumer advisories, by themselves.”
The Food and Drug Administration, dealing with hundreds of
people sickened with salmonella poisoning in 2008, issued warnings on June 3
and June 7 linking the outbreak to certain types of tomatoes.
The FDA also held a media briefing on June 13, and said the “vast
majority” of salmonella-tainted tomatoes were “very likely” from New Mexico and
Florida.
Four days later they confirmed that the outbreak was
actually linked to imported serrano and jalapeno peppers, so the FDA lifted its
warning against tomatoes.
In the meantime, though, “all or almost all of the value of
plaintiffs’ perishable tomatoes was destroyed by the collapse in the market for
tomatoes triggered by the FDA’s warnings,” Bush wrote.
The price of Georgia
tomatoes in 2008 dropped to less than $4 per box from the usual $18 to $19,
while some Florida growers were reportedly reduced to selling their crop for
less than $1 per box.
