Obesity in the Headlines

March 2, 2004 - Reuters News Service

States push bills to deflect food lawsuits

By Deborah Cohen

CHICAGO (Reuters) - State lawmakers are moving fast to introduce legislation to shield big names like McDonald's as well as small, independent food companies around the country against lawsuits by people claiming their fare made them fat.

At least 20 states -- including California, Florida, Colorado and Pennsylvania -- are vetting bills to protect companies against what supporters call frivolous, potentially costly suits that would hold an industry accountable for decisions they claim are matters of personal choice.

Last summer, a Louisiana bill became law, banning court action blaming the food industry for making people overweight. There is a bill before the South Dakota governor, and similar legislation in Wisconsin, Illinois and several other states could come up for a vote within days.

"It's a good bill to protect small business," said State Rep. George Scully, an Illinois Democrat and co-sponsor of his state's legislation. "It encourages people to take responsibility for their own health."

The legislation, often dubbed "The Commonsense Consumption Act," in most cases seeks to protect restaurants, packaged food makers, distributors, advertisers and others from civil liability for an individual's weight gain or related health problems caused by the consumption of specific foods.

In some instances, it is part of a broader package of state tort reform.

"My sense is that it's certainly of concern to the industry and also to the public health advocates," said Amy Winterfeld, who tracks obesity policy for the National Conference of State Legislatures. "It's changing by the minute."

DETRACTORS CALL BILLS PREMATURE

Detractors say the flurry of state activity is premature, as only a few anti-obesity cases have come before the courts. They also contend that big companies should be held accountable for foods that contribute to rising obesity trends in the United States, where more than half the population is considered overweight or obese.

Last year alone, the cost of treating weight-related health problems such as heart disease, diabetes, some types of cancer and arthritis reached an estimated $75 billion.

"There has been tremendously heavy lobbying by the food and restaurant associations because they know they might be vulnerable," said John Banzhaf III, a George Washington University law professor who has been building a case against the corporations he says produce and market foods that are addictive in nature.

The corporate role in public health has been in the foreground in recent months, fueled in part by a high-profile lawsuit against McDonald's filed last year by several teenagers who blamed the largest fast-food maker's hamburgers for making them fat. The case, which sought class-action status, was twice thrown out of federal court.

The state bills are intended in part as a backstop against similar federal legislation.

In February, the House Judiciary Committee passed the Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act, designed to prohibit frivolous lawsuits blaming restaurants or food manufacturers for obesity-related health problems.

Sponsored by Rep. Ric Keller, a Florida Republican, H.R. 339 was being scheduled for a vote by the full House. Keller amended the bill to mirror the Commonsense Consumption Act, introduced in the Senate by Kentucky Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell.

But legal experts said federal legislation faces some hurdles.

"Things move much more slowly," said Rick Berman, a lobbyist for major restaurant companies. "It will be more difficult ... especially in an election year."

State lawmakers say they are indeed bracing for more lawsuits, concerned that Banzhaf and a host of trial lawyers appear committed to building momentum through a series of public awareness campaigns.

"The free market needs to decide this, not courts and lawmakers," said Rep. Dan Vrakas, a Wisconsin Republican sponsoring his state's legislation. "Frivolous lawsuits clog our courts."

Raised in a family of restaurateurs, Vrakas was lobbied by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association to introduce legislation blocking obesity claims.

Sara Stinski, a spokeswoman for the association, said many of the independent restaurants among the state's 7,000 members could be wiped out defending such a legal threat.

"Our argument is just because they haven't been filed yet doesn't mean Wisconsin is safe, or any state is safe," she said.

Copyright 2004, Reuters News Service