Judge denies CRN’s motion for preliminary injunction but its lawsuit against NY state will proceed

The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN; Washington, D.C.) announced that its motion for a preliminary injunction in its complaint against New York State was denied by the judge late last Friday. CRN is suing the state, seeking a permanent injunction against a law that bans the sale of weight management and muscle building supplements to minors. A preliminary injunction would have prevented state authorities from enforcing the law for the duration of the lawsuit. The law officially went into effect on April 22, 2024, meaning that retailers must now comply with the law or else face enforcement actions such as $500 fine.

In a recent conversation, CRN’s president and CEO, Steve Mister, was optimistic after hearing some of the judge’s inquiries about the case. While the judge did deny the preliminary injunction, some optimism was justified as the judge did rule that CRN has standing to sue on behalf of its members.

"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 Mister, in a press release. “As for the preliminary injunction, we knew that asking for such extraordinary relief was a longshot, although we respectfully disagree with the court. 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."