Commack Self-Service Kosher Meats, Inc. v. Hooker

800 F. Supp. 2d 405, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86855
District Court, E.D. New York·Decided August 3, 2011·No. No. 08 CV 0641(NG)(ETB)·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

OPINION & ORDER

GERSHON, District Judge:

Plaintiffs, Commack Self-Service Kosher Meats, Inc. (“Commack Kosher”), a deli and butcher shop located in Commack, New York, that specializes in kosher foods, and its owners challenge the constitutionality of statutes codified at N.Y. Agriculture & Markets Law (“Ag. & Mkts. Law”) §§ 201-a et seq., which regulate the labeling and marketing of food sold as “kosher” in the State of New York. Plaintiffs claim that the statutes described below violate the Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses of the First Amendment and that they are void for vagueness in violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Defendants seek dismissal of the complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6).1

Background

In a decision dated July 28, 2000, I held certain sections of §§ 201-a et seq., which were then in effect, to be unconstitutional. [408]*408Commack Self-Service Kosher Meats, Inc. v. Rubin, 106 F.Supp.2d 445 (2000). The Second Circuit affirmed on May 21, 2002. Commack Self-Service Kosher Meats, Inc. v. Weiss, 294 F.3d 415 (2d Cir.2002), cert. denied, 537 U.S. 1187, 123 S.Ct. 1250, 154 L.Ed.2d 1019 (2003). (The previous suit and corresponding decisions, familiarity with which is assumed, will be referred to here as Commack I). In July of 2004, the New York State Legislature enacted the Kosher Law Protection Act of 2004, codified at §§ 201-a, 201-b, 201-c, and 201-d of the Agriculture and Markets Law (the “Act”). The Act eliminated the previously challenged sections, but retained, in a revised form, those aspects of the statutory scheme that had not been challenged in Commack I.

Plaintiff Commack Kosher is a New York corporation with its principal place of business in the hamlet of Commack, Suffolk County, Long Island. Plaintiffs Brian Yarmeisch, Jeffrey Yarmeisch, and Evelyn Yarmeisch are shareholders, directors, and officers of Commack Kosher. The defendants are the Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture and Markets of the State of New York and the Director of the Kosher Law Enforcement Division of the Department of Agriculture and Markets of the State of New York.

Facts

The following facts alleged in the Amended Complaint and documents incorporated by reference are taken as true for the purposes of this motion,

At all times relevant to the Amended Complaint, Commack Kosher has been a purveyor of kosher food including butchered meats, prepared foods, and kosher provisions. Amended Complaint at ¶ 11. It operates under the kosher supervision of Rabbi William Berman, identified by the plaintiffs as having “held the pulpit of a Conservative Jewish Synagogue.” Amended Complaint at ¶¶ 27-29. Although the Amended Complaint does not specify a date, at some time following the enactment of the Act, Commack Kosher was inspected by the Kosher Law Enforcement Division. Amended Complaint at ¶ 140. At that inspection, the inspector “advised the plaintiffs that it was his function to inspect the purveyor’s establishment to verify that all products being sold bore acceptable ‘labels’ and that the food being offered for sale was otherwise acceptably kosher.” Id. The inspectors that work for the Kosher Law Enforcement Division are not required to be rabbis nor to be learned in Jewish religious law. Amended Complaint at ¶¶ 82-90. Plaintiffs contend that “by dispatching an inspector to inspect the plaintiffs’ compliance with the [Act],” the State has “renewed the accusation that the plaintiffs may not be reliable in matters of kashrut.” Amended Complaint at ¶ 148.8. The plaintiffs do not allege that any violations were issued as a result of the inspection.

Discussion

On a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), the court accepts as true all well-pleaded factual allegations and draws all inferences in the plaintiffs’ favor. See Cleveland v. Caplaw Enters., 448 F.3d 518, 521 (2d Cir.2006). A complaint should be dismissed only if it fails to set forth sufficient allegations of fact to state a claim for relief that is “plausible on its face.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1950, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009); Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). However, the court is “not bound to accept as true legal conclusions couched as factual allegations.” LaFaro v. New York Cardiothoracic Group, PLLC, 570 F.3d 471, 476-77 (2d Cir.2009).

[409]*409I.Kosher Law Protection Act of 2004

The Act is essentially a labeling and disclosure law, the heart of which is the requirement that those who represent food to be kosher provide the public with information regarding the person who has certified it to be kosher (the “kosher certifier”). The Act requires that manufacturers and packers of food represented to be kosher, and also retail vendors who package food for sale as kosher, label the food as kosher. The Act requires that manufacturers, packers, distributors, producers, and retail vendors who represent food to be kosher file a statement of their kosher certifier’s qualifications for determining that food is kosher. The Department of Markets and Agriculture then makes the information available to the public through its website so that consumers can make informed decisions regarding kosher food purchases.

Although the full language of § 201-c is provided below, plaintiffs do not challenge §§ 201-c(3) & (4). The two unchallenged sections concern retail vendors; they require vendors to file the identity of their kosher certifier with the Department of Agriculture and Markets, post a kosher certification form in the retail establishment, and keep a logbook of inspections by the kosher certifier.

Section Two of the 2004 legislation reads as follows:

“Legislative findings and intent. The legislature finds that a significant number of consumers within the state seek to purchase food products that are kosher, and that many of those consumers do so for reasons unrelated to religious observance. The legislature further finds that it is essential that consumers be provided clear and accurate information about the food they are purchasing, and that this goal is furthered by requiring vendors of food and food products represented as kosher to make available to consumers the basis for that representation.”

L. 2004, c. 161, § 2.

Section 201-a, titled “Kosher food and food products; packaging,” provides that:

1. All food and food products packaged in any container and sold or offered for sale as “kosher” or “kosher for passover” shall have a “kosher” or “kosher for passover” label affixed by the manufacturer or packer at its premises.

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Commack Self-Service Kosher Meats, Inc. v. Hooker, 800 F. Supp. 2d 405, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86855 (E.D.N.Y. 2011).

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