On April 21, the Supreme Court of the United States remanded the appeal cases of five vape enterprises, including SWT Global, to the Fifth Circuit Court for retrial and rejected three similar appeals. This confirmed that the FDA has the right to reject the marketing application of flavored vapes and maintain its review standards for the protection of teenagers.
Key points:
- The Supreme Court retried the SWT case: The court reviewed the FDA and SWT Global Supply Inc. The lawsuit was ruled by summary and remanded to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals based on the FDA v. Wages and White Lion decision made three weeks ago.
- Confirming the FDA’s review authority over flavored vapes: The court ruled that the FDA’s implementation of stricter review standards for products that may attract minors (such as flavored vapes) by the 2020 notice is a legal administrative act.
- Three cases were rejected and the FDA emerged victorious: The Supreme Court refused to hear the Magellan, Logic and Lotus cases, upholding the judgments of the Second Circuit. The Third and Ninth Circuit Courts confirmed that the FDA’s decision to reject the relevant market applications was valid.
- Enterprise profiles involved: Five companies are involved in the SWT case: SWT Global Supply Inc., Cloud House LLC, Paradigm Distribution. SV Packaging LLC and Vaporized Inc. Previously, the Fifth Circuit Court ruled that the FDA’s actions were illegal, but now that judgment has been revoked.
U.S. Supreme Court upholds FDA’s power to censor vapes
According to Law360’s report on April 22. The US Supreme Court made decisions on Monday (21st) regarding five cases related to the market access of flavored vapes: One case was reheard, and the appeal requests of the other three cases were rejected. The overall ruling results are in favor of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), further confirming its review power over the marketing applications of vapes.
The court stated in an order that it was against the FDA and SWT Global Supply Inc. In this case, it was decided to grant a certiorari order and a summary disposition, and to remand the case to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals under the unanimous decision made three weeks ago in FDA. Wages and White Lion Investments LLC.
In this judgment, the Supreme Court held that the FDA did not constitute an “arbitrary act” in rejecting market applications for vape products that might attract minors, as it had informed the applicants as early as 2020 that it would conduct more rigorous reviews of flavored vapes.
For the other three cases, namely:
- Magellan Technology Inc. V. FDA (Second Circuit Court)
- Logic Technology Development LLC v. FDA (Third Circuit Court)
- Lotus Vaping Technologies LLC v. FDA (Ninth Circuit Court)
Regulation of flavored products is legal
The Supreme Court’s decision not to accept (to reject the application for a case file order) is equivalent to upholding the original judgment. Confirming that the FDA’s actions are legal and that the review standards have not undergone an “unexpected switch”.
The FDA has previously stated that among many cases related to censorship standards for flavored vapes. Wages and White Lion is the most representative case to handle the legal dispute. The ruling result of this case has also become the main basis for the retrial of the SWT case.
The SWT Global Supply case originated from a 2023 ruling of the Fifth Circuit Court. The court at that time determined that the FDA’s rejection of the market applications of five companies, including SWT, was “illegal”. These five enterprises are respectively:
- SWT Global Supply Inc.
- Cloud House LLC
- Paradigm Distribution
- SV Packaging LLC
- Vaporized Inc.
In October 2023, the FDA requested the Supreme Court to review the ruling. Following the verdict of Wages and White Lion. The FDA asked the court to wait for the outcome of the SWT case before deciding whether to accept it. This time, the Supreme Court finally accepted the FDA’s request and referred the case back to the Fifth Circuit Court for handling.
