A Washington state judge has ordered the Grocery Manufacturers Association on Wednesday to pay nearly $1.1 million in legal fees, adding to the record-setting $18 million fine she levied in November [2016] against the trade group for campaign disclosure violations.
Thurston County Superior Court Judge Anne Hirsch awarded the amount sought by the attorney general’s office. Hirsch ruled last year [2016] that GMA broke state law by failing to identify the food and beverage companies that contributed to a campaign in 2013 to defeat Initiative 522.
The measure would have required the packaged-food industry to label products that have genetically modified ingredients. The initiative, seen as setting a precedent for other states, was narrowly defeated.
Hirsch imposed by far the largest fine ever in the US for a campaign disclosure commission.
GMA has told the court it will appeal.
…
The attorney general’s office also won a $319,281 judgment against Food Democracy Now for failing to identify donors who contributed to the “yes” campaign. The state sought and received $93,000 in legal fees in that case.
The Iowa-based anti-GMO group has also filed a notice that it will appeal.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post: Washington judge hands food companies $1 million legal tab
