Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
ANDREW M. CUOMO
Attorney General of the
State of New York
Attorney for Defendants
120 Broadway, 24th floor
New York, New York 10271
(212) 416-8618/6536
JUNE DUFFY
FREDERICK H. WEN
Assistant Attorneys General
of Counsel
June 9, 2009
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii
PRELIMINARY STATEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Prior Proceedings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
The Amendments to the Bottle Bill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
LEGAL STANDARDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
ARGUMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
POINT I
JUSTICE REQUIRES THAT THE PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION ISSUED ON
MAY 29, 2009, BE MODIFIED TO ENJOIN ONLY THE PROVISIONS OF THE
BOTTLE BILL AMENDMENTS CHALLENGED BY PLAINTIFFS AND FOUND
BY THE COURT TO BE UNCONSTITUTIONAL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
A. The Language of the Preliminary Injunction Does Not Accurately State The
Court’s Ruling From the Bench and Should Be Modified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
C. In Any Event, Only the Provision of the Bottle Bill Amendments Found to be
Invalid by the Court Should Be Severed, With the Remaining Unchallenged
Provisions Left Intact and Enforceable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
POINT II
THE AMOUNT OF THE BOND POSTED BY PLAINTIFFS MUST BE
INCREASED. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
i
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
Grace v. Rosenstock,
228 F.3d 40 (2d Cir. 2000), cert. denied, 532 U.S. 923 (2001) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
ii
Ideal Toy Corp. v. Sayco Doll Corp.,
302 F.2d 623 (2d Cir. 1962) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Metropolitan Opera Association, Inc. v. Local 100, Hotel Employees and Restaurant
Employees International Union,
239 F.3d 172 (2d Cir. 2001) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Okaw Drainage District of Champaign and Douglas County v. National Distillers and
Chemical Corp., 882 F.2d 1241 (7th Cir. 1989) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Rosen v. Siegel,
106 F.3d 28 (2d Cir. 1997) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-14
Russell v. Farley,
105 U.S. 433 (1882) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
iii
S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc. v. Clorox Co.,
241 F.3d 232 (2d Cir. 2001) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
FEDERAL STATUTES
42 U.S.C. § 1983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Rule 52(a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Rule 54(b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Rule 60(b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Rule 65(d) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2, 13, 15, 17
STATE STATUTES
OTHER AUTHORITIES
WRIGHT , MILLER & KANE, Federal Practice and Procedure, Civil 2d, § 2947 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
§ 2955 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
iv
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
---------------------------------------------------------------x
INTERNATIONAL BOTTLED WATER :
ASSOCIATION; NESTLÉ WATERS NORTH : DEFENDANTS’
AMERICA, INC; and POLAR CORP. d/b/a : MEMORANDUM OF LAW
POLAR BEVERAGES, : IN SUPPORT OF THEIR
: MOTION TO MODIFY
Plaintiffs, : THE PRELIMINARY
: INJUNCTION
- against - :
: 09-CV-4672 (DAB)
DAVID A. PATERSON, in his official capacity as :
Governor of the State of New York, et al., :
:
Defendants. :
---------------------------------------------------------------x
PRELIMINARY STATEMENT
Defendants, David A. Paterson, Governor of the State of New York; Andrew M. Cuomo,
Attorney General of the State of New York; Alexander B. Grannis, Commissioner of the New York
State Department of Environmental Conservation; Patrick Hooker, Commissioner of the New York
State Department of Agriculture and Markets; and Robert L. Megna, Commissioner of the New York
State Department of Taxation and Finance (collectively “defendants”), respectfully submit this
memorandum of law in support of their motion to modify the preliminary injunction, issued May 29,
2009, as it violates FED . R. CIV . P. 65(d) because it is overbroad and ambiguous, and to increase the
Recent statutory amendments signed on April 7, 2009, expanded the scope of the current New
York State Returnable Container Act (“RCA”), which already required retailers, distributors,
redemption centers, and bottlers to collect and redeem deposits on several beverage containers such
as aluminum cans, glass, and plastic bottles for soft drinks, mineral and soda water, and beer. N.Y.
ENVTL. CONSERV . LAW §§ 27-1003(1)-(2) (1982). Most of the RCA (the “Bottle Bill”)
Amendments, which should have gone into effect on June 1, 2009, expanded New York State’s
recycling program to require retailers, distributors, redemption centers, and bottlers to start collecting
and redeeming bottle deposits on all non-carbonated bottled water sold in New York, required
beverage companies to return 80 percent of the unclaimed deposits to the State General Fund, and
increased the handling fee from 2 cents to 3.5 cents a container for the redemption of containers.
Plaintiffs challenged these provisions as applied to water bottles only, seeking a preliminary
injunction. In granting the preliminary injunction on limited grounds, the Court nonetheless enjoined
Defendants respectfully contend that the language of the preliminary injunction far exceeds
the parameters of this litigation and the relief sought by plaintiffs, does not faithfully reflect the
findings of fact and conclusions of law stated by Judge Griesa in his decision from the bench on May
27, 2009, after oral argument, and lacks the specificity required by FED . R. CIV . P. 65(d). The
language of the order, proposed by plaintiffs and signed by the Court, enjoins defendants “from
implementing and enforcing any and all other amendments to the Bottle Bill signed into law on April
7, 2009, until April 1, 2010” (Doc. #30; Decl. of Frederick H. Wen (“Wen Decl.”), dated June 9,
2009, Ex. D), while plaintiffs, both in their complaint and at oral argument, challenged only three
discrete aspects of the bill: (1) the requirement that each container have a New York-exclusive
Universal Product Code; (2) the June 1, 2009 effective date as providing too little time for
compliance; and (3) the exclusion of water with sugar from the Bottle Bill Amendments. To the
extent that the Court found one section of the Bottle Bill Amendments unconstitutional as violative
of the Commerce Clause and another as provision as setting an “impossible deadline” for compliance
with provisions related to bottled water, such provision are severable and the Court need not have
2
enjoined the entirety of the Amendments with such devastating effect on the environment and the
public fisc. Further, plaintiffs conceded at oral argument that they could comply with the Bottle Bill
Amendments by October 1, 2009, yet Judge Griesa endorsed their extension of the preliminary
The expansive language of the relief granted – enjoining defendants from implementing and
enforcing any and all other amendments to the Bottle Bill signed into law on April 7, 2009, until April
1, 2010 – failed to give sufficient weight to balancing the equities and has wrought harm to the public
health of New York’s citizens and to the State’s public fisc as well as to small businesses which
support New York’s recycling process. By enjoining the amendments to the Bottle Bill in their
entirety for ten months, the Court ignored the reasons for its passage, namely that: (1) the litter of
beverage containers, including a proliferating number of water bottles, not covered previously by the
Bottle Bill, is a growing problem of State concern and a direct threat to the health and safety of New
York’s citizens; (2) litter accumulation must be disposed of at increasing public expense; and (3) the
uninhibited discard of beverage containers constitutes a waste of both mineral and energy resource.
Further, the Bottle Bill Amendments also granted a needed increase in the handling fee from
2 cents to 3.5 cents per container to redemption centers and other businesses redeeming bottles, the
first increase in eleven years (id., § 4, § 27-1007(6)), and protected beverage purchasers by mandating
that a “New York Bottle Bill of Rights” be posted at the point of sale. Id., § 4, § 27-1007(2).
Most importantly, the Bottle Bill Amendments provided that from June 1, 2009 forward, 80
percent of all unredeemed deposits would be remitted to the State with 20 percent remaining with the
manufacturers. The Amendments set up a protocol for accomplishing this goal through the
3
registration (beginning on April 1, 2009) of deposit initiators with the New York State Department
of Taxation & Finance and their issuance of quarterly reports and the transfer of funds electronically.
N.Y. ENVTL. CONSERV . LAW § 27-1012.4. It is estimated that the State fisc would be increased
through this amendment by $153 million dollars in the 2009 fiscal year which ends March 31, 2010.
Unredeemed deposits from only previously-covered beverages (beer, soda, some wine) would bring
in $86 million from June 1, 2009, through March 31, 2010. (Wen Decl., Ex. E, Decl. of Todd
Scheuermann, Chief Budget Examiner in the New York Division of Budget, dated June 5, 2009, at
2-3). In other words, New York State is losing $235,000 per day ($86 million/365) because this
The language of the preliminary injunction suspends implementation of all these provisions
even though none were challenged in this litigation by the plaintiffs. For the reasons stated below,
justice requires that the language of the preliminary injunction be modified and narrowed to reflect
the Court’s actual and limited findings of fact and conclusions of law which prohibited the
requirement for a New York-exclusive Universal Product Code and found June 1, 2009, to be too
short of a deadline for compliance by the water bottlers with provisions related to bottled water.
defendants’ motion to modify the preliminary injunction for a fuller explanation of the amendments
to the Bottle Bill and how they are designed to work, which will be briefly summarized here:
Declaration of Cristin M. Clarke, Senior Attorney in the Office of Counsel in the New York State
Department of Environmental Conversation (“DEC”), dated June 9, 2009, (“Clarke Decl.”) (Ex. E);
4
Overpayments and Control Bureau of the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance,
undated (“O’Donnell Decl.”) (Ex. F); Declaration of Todd Scheuermann, Chief Budget Examiner in
the New York Division of Budget, dated June 5, 2009 (“Scheuermann Decl.”) (Ex. G). The Court
is further referred to the Declaration of Kenneth A. Rosenblum, Counsel to the Empire State Beer
Distributors Association (“Empire”), dated June 5, 2009 (“Rosenblum Decl.”) (Ex. H); the
Declaration of Sheila Rivers, Chairperson of the Bottle and Can Redemption Association
(“BACRA”), dated June 5, 2009 (“Rivers Decl.”) (Ex. I), and the Declaration of Carlos D. Nazario,
former President of the Empire State Beer Distributors Association, and current President and Chief
Executive Officer of Neighborhood Redemption Center, dated June 9, 2009 (“Nazario Decl.”) (Ex.
J), which detail the devastating financial impact of the enjoining of the increased fees to redemption
The RCA was originally enacted on June 15, 1982, by Chapter 200, Laws of 1982 and became
effective July 1, 1983. The statutory authority is Article 27, Title 10 of the New York Environmental
Conservation Law (“ECL”), sections 27-1001 to 27-1019, and the implementing regulations are at
6 NYCRR Part 367. The RCA was amended by Part SS of Chapter 59 of the laws of 2009
(hereinafter “Bottle Bill Amendments” or “Amendments”), which were signed into law by Governor
Paterson on April 7, 2009, and amend Title 10 of Article 27 of the ECL. (Clarke Decl., ¶¶ 4-5).
The RCA already required retailers, distributors, redemption centers, and bottlers to collect
and redeem deposits on several beverage containers such as aluminum cans, glass, and plastic bottles
for soft drinks, mineral and soda water, and beer. The Bottle Bill Amendments, would, inter alia,
expand the Bottle Bill to require retailers, distributors, redemption centers, and bottlers to start
5
collecting and redeeming bottle deposits on all non-carbonated bottled water sold in New York, and
require beverage companies to return 80 percent of the unclaimed deposits to the State General Fund.
Further, the Bottle Bill would increase the handling charge from 2 cents a container to 3.5 cents, the
Given the short notice afforded defendants by plaintiffs’ order to show cause, the swift
scheduling of oral argument and the limited nature of the relief sought by plaintiffs, certain facts,
essential to defendants’ motion for modification, were not before the Court when it granted the
preliminary injunction.
Significantly, when the amendments were signed into law on April 7, 2009, certain provisions
b. Section 10: authorizes DEC to promulgate rules and regulations necessary for
implementation;
e. Section 14: amends section 261 of the New York State Economic
Development Law to expand waste prevention eligibility to include the costs
of reverse vending machines and acquisition of real property for beverage
container collection, sorting, and packaging.
g. Section 16: sets forth the effective dates of each section in the amendments
6
in Part SS of Chapter 59 of the Laws of 2009.
Section 2 and 3: Sections Two and Three make changes to the definitions in section 27-1003
of the RCA. Specifically, section Two adds the term “water”1 to the definitions of “beverages” and
amends the definition of “beverage container.” Section 3 adds and defines the terms “bottler,”
“deposit initiator,” “reverse vending machine,” and “universal product code.” Section 3 also amends
Section 8: Section Eight of the Amendments also took effect on April 1, 2009, except that
the requirements to make deposits, file reports, and make withdrawals under the new ECL section 27-
1012, with respect to containers defined as beverage containers prior to April 1, 2009 (carbonated soft
drinks, mineral water, soda water, beer, other malt beverages and wine products) was to first apply
to the period beginning on April 15, 2009, and ending May 31, 2009. (Clarke Decl., ¶ 18).
Other amendments were to take effect June 1, 2009, only three of which affect bottlers. Id.,
¶¶ 20-23.2 Specifically, with respect to all other beverage containers (“water” beverages), the
requirements to make deposits, file reports, and make withdrawals under the new ECL section 27-
1012 (as added by section 8 of the 2009 Bottle Bill Amendments) would first apply to the period
beginning June 1, 2009 and ending August 31, 2009. Also, water beverages would not be required
1
The definition of “water” included “any flavored water or nutritionally enhanced water,”
but not “any beverage identified as a type of water to which a sugar has been added.” (Ex. A, § 2,
§ 27-1003(1)).
2
For a chart setting forth each provision of the Amendments with its respective effective
dates, purpose, and impact, defendants refer the Court to the chart annexed to the Clarke
Declaration as Exhibit A.
7
to have a refund value as required under ECL section 27-1005, as added by section 4 of the
Additionally, the requirements of subsection 12 of section 27-1012, did not take effect until
June 1, 2009. Beginning June 1, 2009, deposit initiators were required to register the container labels
of a beverage offered for sale in New York State on which they initiate a deposit. Those labels were
required to have a universal product code (“UPC”), and such UPC was required to be New York-
The program by which the State would recapture deposits representing unredeemed beverage
containers, as provided by the amendments, was set up by the Department of Taxation and Finance.
(O’Donnell Decl., passim). Registration for the program for deposit initiators (sellers of carbonated
soft drinks, beer, malt beverages and certain wine products) subject to the RCA prior to April 1, 2009,
took place from April 1, 2009 through June 1, 2009. Id., ¶ 7. The first payments to the State from
these deposit initiators must be made by June 22, 2009. Id., ¶ 8. The New York State Division of
the Budget estimates that 80 percent of all unredeemed deposits would bring $115 million dollars into
the General Fund for fiscal year 2009-2010 (April 1, 2009 - March 31, 2010). (Scheuermann Decl.,
¶¶ 4, 9). Eighty-six million dollars would be collected if the State received 80 percent of the deposits
from previously covered containers while $29 million would be collected from water bottlers, now
lost if the expansion of coverage to water bottlers is delayed until April 10, 2010. Id., ¶¶ 10-11.
For the impact of the delay in receipt of the 1.5-cent increase in the handling fee for returned
containers from 2 cents to 3.5 cents, defendants respectfully refer this Court to the Rosenblum,
3
This provision has been enjoined by the May 29, 2009 Order and is not challenged by
defendants’ motion for modification.
8
Rivers, and Nazario Declarations, passim. (Wen Decl., Exs. H-J). All of those declarations stress the
financial impact of the loss of the increase for more than 300 redemption centers, including beverage
centers holding “C” licenses issued by the New York State Liquor Authority. Without modification
of the preliminary injunction to allow the increase in the handling fee, the redemption centers may
go out of business and jobs will be lost. Id., Exs. I, ¶ 23; Ex. J, ¶¶ 9-10.
Prior Proceedings
association, and Nestlé Waters North America, Inc. (“Nestlé”), and Polar Corp., d/b/a Polar Beverages
(“Polar”), two corporate bottled-water producers (collectively “plaintiffs”), bring this action against
five New York State officials in their official capacities. The Complaint contains seven causes of
action under 42 U.S.C § 1983, challenging the constitutionality of some of the Bottle Bill
Amendments, asserting that they violate the Commerce Clause, the Equal Protection, and Substantive
Due Process. (Doc. #1; Ex. B, Compl. at 7-13). Plaintiffs sought to enjoin the defendants from
implementing and enforcing only certain provisions of these Bottle Bill Amendments, challenging
the provisions that require all bottles sold in New York to have a New York-exclusive Universal
Product Code, that provide an exception for bottles that contain sugar (“Sugar Water Exception”),
and that set the effective date of June 1, 2009 for compliance by water bottlers. (Doc. #6, Pls.’ Mem.
At oral argument on May 27, 2009, plaintiffs reiterated these claims. Plaintiffs’ counsel stated
that they were objecting to: “number one, regulating our actions outside of New York; and number
two, imposing those requirement with only seven weeks’ lead time; and number three, the sugar water
exception.” (Doc. #29; Wen Decl., Ex. C, p. 30 at lines 9-12). In short, these were the only issues
9
considered by the Court before it granted the preliminary injunction from the bench.
Plaintiffs’ counsel further stressed the importance of the concerns of the water bottlers and
the difficulty of compliance in a short time because water bottles had never been covered by the
Bottled Bill previously (Wen Decl., Ex. C, p. 5, 3-5; p. 6, 13-14; p. 7, 12-13), in contrast to beer and
soda companies who had been subject to the container law since 1982. (Wen Decl., Ex. C, p. 5, 15-
26; p. 6, 16-23; p. 7, 12-22). Plaintiffs made emphatically clear that they were not challenging all
aspects of the Bottle Bill, including the new 80 percent/20 percent split which remitted to the State
80 percent of the deposits never presented for redemption, 100 percent of which previously had
provided a windfall to the manufacturers. (Wen Decl., Ex. C, p. 11, 17-23; p. 12, 19-23; p. 13, 1-11).
Further, when questioned by the Court about how much time was needed for compliance with the
Bottle Bill, plaintiffs’ counsel responded, “[W]e have submitted an affidavit indicating a bare
At the end of the argument, the Court granted a preliminary injunction, placing his findings
on the record. The Court enjoined the requirement for a New York-exclusive Universal Product
Code, holding that “the provision is a violation of the commerce clause.”4 (Wen Decl., Ex. C, p. 55,
4-7). The Court further found June 1 “an impossible deadline” (id. at 55, 23), inviting “a proposed
Plaintiffs proposed and the Court signed, over defendants’ objections, an Order greatly
expanding the Court’s ruling from the bench in paragraphs 2 and 3. Paragraph 2 reads:
4
Defendants do not challenge that ruling which is set forth in the Order at paragraph 1.
(Ex. D at 1).
10
signed into law on April 7, 2009, until April 1, 2010, to allow
persons subject to the amendments sufficient time to comply
with the law’s requirement.
With respect to the Sugar Water Exception, the Court crossed out the paragraph enjoining that
provision, and initialed it because the Court had made no mention of that exception in its ruling from
The defendants now move to modify the language of the preliminary injunction so that only
provisions of the Amendments which affect water bottlers are enjoined as to the plaintiffs (§§ 4, 8,
§ 27-1012.12), that all other amendments may be implemented and enforced, and that the date for
compliance by water bottlers be set for October 1, 2009, instead of April 1, 2010.
LEGAL STANDARDS
While an interpretation of a preliminary injunction does not change the status of the parties,
a modification “alters the legal relationship between the parties, or substantially changes the terms
and force of the injunction.” Weight Watchers Int’l v. Luigino’s, Inc., 423 F.3d 137, 142 (2d Cir.
2005). “The decision whether to modify a preliminary injunction involves an exercise of the same
discretion that a court employs in an initial decision to grant or deny a preliminary injunction.”
Global Switching Inc. v. Kasper, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 44450, at *33 (E.D.N.Y. June 29, 2006)
(quoting Weight Watchers Int’l, Inc., 423 F. 3d at 141). “[A] preliminary injunction is a specific
equitable remedy and thus, must be framed in such a way as to strike a delicate balance between
competing interests. By necessity, the scope of the injunction must be drawn by reference to the facts
of the individual case, reflecting a careful balancing of the equities.” Sunward Elecs., Inc. v.
McDonald, 362 F.3d 17, 26 (2d Cir. 2004) (quoting Joseph Scott Co. v. Scott Swimming Pools, Inc.,
11
764 F.2d 62, 67 (2d Cir. 1985)) (citation omitted) (upholding the issuance of the preliminary
injunction, but remanding for the district court to “conduct a factual inquiry into the scope of the
An interlocutory order, such as the one here, is subject to revision “at any time before the entry
of [final] judgment.” FED . R. CIV . P. 54(b); Grace v. Rosenstock, 228 F.3d 40, 51 (2d Cir. 2000),
cert. denied, 532 U.S. 923 (2001) (“All interlocutory orders remain subject to modification or
adjustment prior to the entry of a final judgment adjudicating the claims to which they pertain.”).
“[I]nterlocutory judgments are left subject to the complete power of the Court rendering them to
afford such relief from them as justice requires.” FED . R. CIV . P. 60(b) Advisory Committee notes;
see also Ideal Toy Corp. v. Sayco Doll Corp., 302 F.2d 623, 625 (2d Cir. 1963) (“[A]bsent an appeal,
a district court has complete power over its interlocutory orders. . . . And, absent an appeal, it lay
within the discretion of the district court to consider newly presented evidence. . . .”) (citations
omitted). The defendants here seek a modification to “substantially change[] the terms and force of
ARGUMENT
POINT I
Co. of N.Y. Inc., 409 F.3d 506, 510 (2d Cir. 2005) (citations omitted), whose purpose is to protect
the plaintiffs from irreparable harm and to preserve the Court’s power to render a meaningful decision
12
after trial on the merits. In issuing such an order before the entire matter has been fully and fairly
heard, great care must be taken to assure that the power of a court to require or to deter action does
not result in unwarranted harm to the defendant or the public. Alabama v. U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, 424 F.3d 1117, 1128 (11th Cir. 2005), cert. denied 547 U.S. 1192 (2006) (quoting
WRIGHT , MILLER & KANE, Federal Practice and Procedure, Civil 2d § 2947). Further, an injunction,
preliminary or not, must be based on a Court’s “finding of fact and conclusions of law which
constitute the grounds for its action.” FED . R. CIV . P. 52(a); Rosen v. Siegel, 106 F.3d 28, 32 (2d Cir.
1997). Such directive “encourages the trial judge to ascertain the facts with due care and to render
a decision in accord with the evidence and the law.” Inverness Corp. v. Whitehall Labs, 819 F.2d 48,
50 (2d Cir. 1987) (per curiam); see also Fair Hous. in Huntington Comm. v. Town of Huntington, 316
Rule 65 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure sets forth the “Contents and Scope of Every
Injunction and Restraining Order.” Specifically, the Rule states that “every order granting an
injunction . . . must . . . state the reasons why it issued[;] . . . state its terms specifically; and . . .
describe in reasonable detail – and not by referring to the complaint or other document – the act or
acts restrained or required.” FED . R. CIV . P. 65(d). “‘To comply with the specificity and clarity
requirements [of Rule 65(d)], an injunction must be specific and definite enough to apprise those
within its scope of the conduct that is being proscribed.’” New York v. Shinnecock Indian Nation,
560 F. Supp. 2d 186, 189 (E.D.N.Y. 2008) (quoting S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc. v. Clorox Co., 241
F.3d 232, 240-41 (2d Cir. 2001)) (internal citation and quotation marks omitted). “‘This rule against
broad, vague injunctions is designed to prevent uncertainty and confusion on the part of those to
whom the injunction is directed, and to be sure that the appellate court knows precisely what it is
13
reviewing.’” Id. (quoting Rosen, 106 F.3d at 32) (citation and quotation marks omitted); see also In
re Worldcom, Inc. Sec. Litig, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 76272, at *11 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 16, 2007) (“Rule
65 is concerned with vagueness insofar as a vague injunction poses the threat of a contempt citation
for violation of an order so vague that an enjoined party may unwittingly and unintentionally
A. The Language of the Preliminary Injunction Does Not Accurately State the Court’s
Ruling From the Bench and Should Be Modified
The language of the preliminary injunction order violates all of these precepts. Here, the
• the new law includes bottled water, where the old law did not (Wen Decl., Ex. C at
p. 53);
• one plaintiff was a trade organization relating to bottled water and another, a maker
and distributor of bottled water, namely, Poland Spring (Id. at p. 54);
• the statute required that a new code be placed on all bottles and mark each bottle as
being for sale exclusively in New York State (Id.);
• the code that required marketing exclusively in New York prevents commerce in those
bottles outside New York (Id. at 54);
• “the defendants are preliminarily enjoined from carrying out or enforcing the phase
[sic] of the statute which provides that bottles with the new labels are to be sold
exclusively in the State of New York (Id.);
• about “the other phase [sic] of the statute, aside from the one I’ve just described about
exclusivity, there is no objection.” (Id.);
• except that there is “a very strong objection on . . . due process grounds of what is
termed an impossible deadline to have all this arrangement done by June 1 (Id.);
• the Court granted a preliminary injunction against the enforcement of the June 1, 2009
deadline and entertained a proposed order for a more reasonable deadline. (Id. at 55-
14
56).
A comparison of the transcript with the Court’s order demonstrates that the procedural
safeguards of Rule 65(d) were ignored or forgotten. Here, the preliminary injunction, crafted entirely
by the plaintiffs with the exception of the elimination of the Sugar Water Exception, represents the
very kind of overbroad and vague injunctive relief that courts within the Second Circuit have
criticized. See Shinnecock Indian Nation, 560 F. Supp. 2d at 190. Specifically, not only does the
preliminary injunction enjoin the defendants from “implementing or enforcing the New York-
exclusive Universal Product Code provision of the [Bottle Bill] as amended, [ECL] § 27-1012.12,”
but it also enjoins the defendants from “implementing and enforcing any and all other amendments
to the Bottle Bill signed into law on April 7, 2009, until April 1, 2010, to allow persons subject to the
amendments sufficient time to comply with the law’s requirements.” (Wen Decl., Ex. D).
On its face, the preliminary injunction renders all implementation and enforcement of the
Bottle Bill Amendments signed into law on April 7, 2009 – and not merely the challenged provision
involving the NY-exclusive UPC with its June 1, 2009 effective date preliminarily found to be invalid
by the Court – a violation of the injunction and, consequently, a basis for a civil contempt order. See,
e.g., Shinnecock Indian Nation, 560 F. Supp. 2d at 190. However, the sole questions before the Court
in the instant action were whether the NY-exclusive UPC provision and accompanying June 1, 2009
effective date were violations of the Commerce Clause and Substantial Due Process, respectively, and
whether the Sugar Water Exception was a violation of the Equal Protection Clause. These limited
questions determined the scope of the preliminary injunction hearing and underlay the Court’s ruling
on the record on May 27, 2009. That the Court found ECL § 27-1012.12, the NY-exclusive UPC
provision with its June 1, 2009 effective date, to be invalid does not justify an unlimited broadening
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of the injunction. The plaintiffs had not challenged the remaining Bottle Bill Amendments in their
motion for a preliminary injunction or in the complaint, and stated affirmatively that they had no
objections to them during the May 27, 2009 hearing. (Wen Decl., Ex. C, p. 11, 17-23; p. 12, 19-23;
p. 13, 1-11).
Furthermore, when asked for a reasonable time frame for compliance, the plaintiffs stated at
the hearing that they required a minimum of October 1, 2009. (Wen Decl., Ex. C, p. 30). But when
the parties were directed to submit a time frame, the plaintiffs proposed an entire year for compliance,
To so expand the scope of injunctive relief beyond its findings that the NY-exclusive UPC
labeling provision and June 1, 2009 effective date were violations of the Commerce Clause
effectively precludes the wholesale enforcement of the remaining unchallenged Bottle Bill
Amendments for the next ten months. Thus, the overbroad and vague preliminary injunction must
be modified because it is inconsistent with Second Circuit precedent vacating such overbroad and
vague injunctions. See Shinnecock Indian Nation, 560 F. Supp. 2d at 191 (citing, inter alia, Ibeto
Petrochemical Indus. Ltd. v. M/T Beffen, 475 F.3d 56, 65 (2d Cir. 2007) (ordering district court to
“modify its injunction with a specificity consonant with [Second Circuit’s] determination” that “the
injunction in this case cuts much too broadly”); Metro. Opera Ass’n, Inc. v. Local 100, Hotel
Employees and Rest. Employees Int’l Union, 239 F.3d 172, 178-79 (2d Cir. 2001) (holding, in First
Amendment case, that “the vagueness of this injunction serves as sufficient reason to require that we
vacate it”); Starter Corp. v. Converse, Inc., 170 F.3d 286, 300 (2d Cir. 1999) (holding, in trademark
case, that “[b]ecause the injunction exceeds the jury’s findings of infringement upon Converse’s
rights, it is overly broad and, in that respect, represents an abuse of the discretion of the district
16
court”); and Okaw Drainage Dist. of Champaign and Douglas County v. Nat’l Distillers and Chem.
Corp., 882 F.2d 1241, 1247-48 (7th Cir. 1989) (affirming district court’s denial of overbroad
injunctive relief because “injunction so much broader in scope than the injury sought to be prevented
would, if granted, exhibit a lack of equity on its face, and this is reason enough for refusing to issue
Accordingly, this Court should modify the preliminary injunction to enjoin the defendants
from implementing and enforcing the only provision that was deemed invalid, ECL § 27-1012.12,
until October 1, 2009. As it stands, the preliminary injunction is both broader in both scope than the
relief requested by the plaintiffs, including the minimum time frame requested, and it is too vague as
to which of the remaining unchallenged and already-effective provisions of the Bottle Bill
punishment, it is reasonable to require that those enjoined be given fair notice of the conduct that is
being punished.” Goldic Elec. Inc. v. Loto Corp. USA, 27 Fed. Appx. 71, 2001 U.S. App. LEXIS
25388, at *74 (2d Cir. 2001) (summary order) (quoting WRIGHT , MILLER & KANE, Federal Practice
and Procedure, Civil 2d § 2955); see also Corning Inc. v. Pic Vue Elecs., Ltd., 365 F.3d 156, 157 (2d
Cir. 2004). Specificity in the language of an injunction is “absolutely vital in a case where a federal
court is asked to nullify a law duly enacted by a sovereign state.” Gunn v. University Committee to
End War, 399 U.S. 383, 389 (1970). The Order violates FED . R. CIV . P. 65(d)(1)(C) because it does
not describe in reasonable detail the act or acts restrained or required due to its internal inconsistency
17
and consequent ambiguity.
The language of the Order challenged here is uncertain and equivocal. Paragraph 1 of the
Order states unmistakably that “defendants are enjoined from implementing or enforcing the New
York-exclusive Universal Product Code provision of the New York State Returnable Container Act
(the “Bottle Bill”) as amended. . . .” (Wen Decl., Ex. D). In paragraph 3, the Court crossed out and
initialed language enjoining the definition of water as set forth in the amended Bottle Bill. Id. at 2.
If the Court understood when it initialed paragraph 2, which enjoins implementation and enforcement
of “any and all other amendments to the Bottle Bill,” that the Amendments were enjoined in their
entirety, then paragraph 1 is unnecessary and mere surplusage. Further, if the Court thought that the
Amendments were enjoined in their entirety, then the Court need not have crossed out and initialed
paragraph 3.
As the language of the Order now stands, various questions logically arise. Pursuant to the
removal of paragraph 3, are defendants allowed to enforce and implement the Sugar Water Exception
because it is not enjoined? Or is the Sugar Water Exception enjoined by the language of paragraph
2? If the answer to this question is in the affirmative, then what is the purpose of paragraph 1, which
the Court should have crossed out as the New York-exclusive Universal Product Code is presumably
Further, it is unclear whether this preliminary injunction – or any injunction which enjoins a
specific effective date of a statute – can or does enjoin provisions of the same statute having earlier
effective dates. Here, several provisions of the Bottle Bill Amendments were effective April 1, 2009;
others were effective on April 7, 2009. (Clarke Decl., ¶¶ 14, 16-18, Ex. A). For instance, one of the
amendments expanded the authority of the DEC to promulgate rules and regulations and another
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granted the DEC the power to establish a public education program. Given the ambiguities of the
May 29, 2009 Order, the DEC cannot promulgate rules and regulations on certain topics or establish
a public education program without the fear that it will be held in contempt.
Statutes must be interpreted, if possible to give each word some operative effect. Building
and Construction Trades Council v. Downtown Dev., Inc., 448 F.3d 138, 156 (2d Cir. 2006) (citations
omitted). The same standard applies to the language of a preliminary injunction for the protection
of those enjoined. Justice requires that the language of the preliminary injunction be modified, given
its internal inconsistencies and ambiguity and that the consequence of disobedience may be a finding
of contempt. The threat of contempt is unjust to the State defendants where the language of the
C. In Any Event, Only the Provision of the Bottle Bill Amendments Found to be Invalid
by the Court Should Be Severed, With the Remaining Unchallenged Provisions Left
Intact and Enforceable.
In any event, because the original Bottle Bill contained a severability clause that was not
repealed by the Bottle Bill Amendments, only the provision of the Bottle Bill Amendments that was
found to be invalid by the Court, ECL § 27-1012.12, should be severed, leaving the remaining
In determining severability, the Supreme Court has instructed that “‘[u]nless it is evident that
the Legislature would not have enacted those provisions which are within its power, independently
of that which is not, the invalid part may be dropped if what is left is fully operative as a law.’” New
York v. Oneida Indian Nation, 78 F. Supp. 2d 49, 56 (N.D.N.Y 1999) (quoting Alaska Airlines, Inc.
v. Brock, 480 U.S. 678, 684 (1987)). Thus, federal courts “will honor the severability clauses so long
as the valid and invalid portions of the [statute] are not so ‘intertwined’ that severance of the invalid
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portion leaves the regulatory scheme in a manner unintended by the legislative body,” or “if such
severance amounts to a judicial re-writing of the [statute].” Nichols Media Group, LLC v. Town of
Babylon, 365 F. Supp. 2d 295, 318 (E.D.N.Y. 2005) (citing Nat’l Advertising Co. v. Babylon, 900
F.2d 551, 557-58) (2d Cir. 1990)). “The critical issue is whether the legislation would have been
enacted if it had not included the unconstitutional provisions.” Nat’l Advertising Co., 900 F.2d at 557
(citing, inter alia, United States v. Jackson, 390 U.S. 570, 585 n. 27 (1968)). Put another way, “‘the
unconstitutional provision must be severed unless the statute created in its absence is legislation that
[the Legislature] would not have enacted.’” Oneida Indian Nation, 78 F. Supp. 2d at 56 (quoting
Brock, 480 U.S. at 685). When a severability clause is contained in a statute, a presumption arises
in favor of severability, and thus, “unless there is strong evidence that [the Legislature] intended
otherwise, the objectionable provision can be excised from the remainder of the statute.” Id.; see also
EEOC v. CBS, Inc., 743 F.2d 969, 971 (2d Cir. 1984) (stating “[w]hether or not [federal courts]
should sever an unconstitutional provision from the remainder of the statute in which it appears is
Thus, this Court must look to the statute and its relevant legislative history to decide whether
the New York State Legislature would have passed the remaining provisions of the Bottle Bill
Amendments without ECL § 27-1012.12, the NY-exclusive UPC provision which had its own June
1, 2009 effective date. See CBS, Inc., 743 F.3d at 971. The original Bottle Bill contained a
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The provisions of this title shall be severable and if any phrase, clause,
sentence or provision of this title, or the applicability thereof to any
person or circumstance shall be held invalid, the remainder of this title
and the application thereof shall not be affected thereby.
ECL § 27-1019 (2009). This severability clause was not amended or repealed with the Bottle Bill
Amendments. (Wen Decl., Ex. A, §§ 13-16). Because the Bottle Bill Amendments did not repeal the
severability clause, therefore a presumption arises in favor of severability for which the plaintiffs must
show “strong evidence” that the Legislature intended that the Bottle Bill Amendments, and ECL §
27-1012.12, were not severable. See Brock, 480 U.S. at 685; Oneida Indian Nation, 78 F. Supp. 2d
at 56. This the plaintiffs simply cannot do, given the number of provisions which do not affect the
plaintiffs (Clarke Decl., ¶¶ 20-23), and which they do not challenge here.
POINT II
In any event, the $10,000 bond posted by the plaintiffs must be increased. FED . R. CIV . P.
65(c) requires that a Court may issue a preliminary injunction only if a movant gives security in an
amount that the Court considers proper to pay the costs and damages sustained by any party found
to have been wrongfully enjoined or restrained. See Blumenthal v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner &
Smith, Inc., 910 F.2d 1049, 1051 (2d Cir. 1990) (a party subjected to a preliminary injunction in
district court who is later found to have been “wrongly enjoined” may recover against the security
Here, whether or not the language of the Order is modified, the amount of the bond posted by
plaintiffs, $10,000.00, must be increased to cover the possible losses suffered by the defendants and
the State of New York during the time this injunction is in effect in the event it is found to have been
21
wrongly issued. An injunction covering “any and all other amendments” to the Bottle Bill will cause
the New York State General Fund to lose an estimated $86 million by March 31, 2010, due to
defendants’ inability to collect 80 percent of unredeemed deposits from beer and soda containers
alone. An additional 29 million dollars will be lost in the same time frame from water bottlers
The amount of an injunction bond is within the discretion of the Court. An error in setting
the bond too high, however, is not serious because the damages caused by an erroneous preliminary
injunction cannot exceed the amount of the bond posted as security. Russell v. Farley, 105 U.S. 433,
437 (1882); Mead Johnson & Co. v. Abbott Lab., 201 F.3d 883, 888 (7th Cir.), cert. denied 531 U.S.
917 (2000).
A meager $10,000.00 bond simply will not cover even a meaningful fraction of the losses to
the defendants, the State, and the citizens of New York imposed by this preliminary injunction.
Assuming arguendo for the purposes of this calculation only, that granting more time for compliance
with the Bottle Bill Amendments to the water bottlers is found to be correct, the State will still lose
$86 million because the preliminary injunction prevents the collection of moneys from the beer and
soda manufacturers. (Ex. E, Scheuermann Decl., ¶ 10). This result is particularly harsh where the
plaintiffs affirmatively stated at oral argument that the 80/20 split of the value of unredeemed deposits
was not challenged by their application for interim relief. (Wen Decl., Ex. C, p. 11, 22-24; p. 12, 19-
23; p. 13, 5-10). In the event it is determined in the future that the injunction was erroneously granted
to the water bottlers, then the State would have lost an additional $29 million. (Scheuermann Decl.,
¶ 11).
Given the possibility of this enormous loss to the public fisc during a financial crisis when
22
New York State revenues have been buffeted by the downturn, this Court should exercise its
discretion and order plaintiffs to post a bond in the amount of $115 million for all moneys lost or, for
$86 million, if the injunction is not modified to allow collection of unredeemed deposit moneys from
manufacturers of beverages covered by the Bottle Bill prior to the April 2009 Bottle Bill Amendments
or, for at least $29 million if the preliminary injunction is modified so that it applies only to water
bottlers.
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CONCLUSION
For the reasons stated above, the defendants respectfully request that this Court modify the
injunction to sever only the challenged provision, ECL § 27-1012.12, that was found to be invalid by
the Court, which should only be enjoined until October 1,2009, and leave the remaining provisions
ofthe Bottle Bill Amendments intact to be implemented and enforced by the defendants. Further, the
Court should raise plaintiffs' bond from $10,000.00 to $115 million ifthe injunction is not modified.
Respectfully submitted,
ANDREW M. CUOMO
Attorney General of the
State of New York
Attorney for Defendants
120 Broadway
New York, New York 10271
By: ~!L~
FREDERICK WEN H.
Assistant Attorney General
120 Broadway
New York, New York 10271
(212) 416-8618/6536
(212) 416-6075/6076/6009 (fax)
Fred. Wen@oag.state.ny.us
JUNE DUFFY
FREDERICK H. WEN
Assistant Attorneys General
of Counsel
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