FRESNO, Calif. — A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit filed by Missouri and five other states asking the court to strike down a California law barring the sale of eggs in the state produced by hens in cramped living conditions.
U.S. District Judge Kimberly Mueller dismissed the suit Thursday, giving California a major victory in a cross-country battle that pitted animal protections against the economic interests of farmers in the South and Midwest.
Mueller said the states lacked legal standing to sue because they failed to show that the California law does genuine harm to their citizenry instead of just possible future damage to some egg producers.
“It is patently clear plaintiffs are bringing this action on behalf of a subset of each state’s egg farmers,” she wrote in the decision, “not on behalf of each state’s population generally.”
She also ruled that the suit can’t be refiled or amended, although the states can appeal.
Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster said Friday that it was reviewing its options.
