Austin, Texas, January 2009 – Mid-month, Whole Foods Market, Inc. re-filed its case against the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in a federal appeals court hoping for quick closure of the 18-month legal battle.

 The Austin, Texas-based, natural and organic retailer said it did not want to spend time arguing the case on jurisdictional grounds and voluntarily withdrew its petition from U.S. District Court, re-filing it in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

The petition asks the court to bar the FTC from conducting a trial that would violate the company's due process rights because the Commission has already publicly prejudged the case against Whole Foods and refused to give the company enough time to prepare for the administrative trial.

The FTC's administrative trial against the natural and organic retailer, which is separate from the case slogging through the U.S. court system, begins April 6.

"Filing with the Court of Appeals, which the FTC concedes has jurisdiction over the case, saves time and we want to move this case forward in the most expeditious manner for all concerned,” said Jim Sud, executive vice president of growth and business development for Whole Foods.

The petition also alleges that companies under the jurisdiction of the FTC, like Whole Foods Market, are subjected to a different standard of justice than those under the U.S. Department of Justice, which does not engage in further litigation if it loses a preliminary injunction.

In this case, the FTC lost a preliminary injunction but started an administrative trial 18 months later.
A Congressionally-mandated Commission has called for abolishing the dual system that allows the

FTC to conduct its own administrative trial while the Department of Justice can only proceed in federal court.