En Banc Ninth Circuit Rejects Compelled-Commercial Speech Ordinance on First Amendment Grounds
02/04/2019
Last week the en banc Ninth Circuit unanimously struck down San Francisco’s ordinance requiring warnings on ads for certain sugary beverages as a violation of the First Amendment. In American Beverage Ass’n v. City and County of San Francisco, No. 16-16072, the court held that the Ordinance is an “unjustified or unduly burdensome disclosure requirement[] [that] might offend the First Amendment by chilling protected commercial speech.” Zauderer v. Office of Disciplinary Counsel, 471 U.S. 626, 651 (1985). (Jenner & Block filed an amicus brief in the case, on behalf of the Retail Litigation Center.)
Four of the eleven judges who participated joined three special concurrences, however, explaining why they believed the majority had erred even though it reached the right result. Those three concurrences highlight a number of issues related to commercial speech for courts to address in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in National Institute of Family & Life Advocates v. Becerra (NIFLA), 138 S. Ct. 2361 (2018).
San Francisco’s “Sugar-Sweetened Beverage” Ordinance
The American Beverage Association v. City and County of San Francisco centers on a 2015 ordinance that required ads for certain “Sugar-Sweetened Beverages” to include the following: “WARNING: Drinking beverages with added sugar(s) contributes to obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay. This is a message from the City and County of San Francisco.” Slip op. 8.