Trump administration lawsuit against California egg rules can proceed
Published 7:00 am Tuesday, October 6, 2026
A federal judge has decided to allow the Trump administration to move forward with a lawsuit against California’s regulations for egg-laying hens.
U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi in Los Angeles has rejected California’s motion to dismiss the revised complaint similarly to an earlier version of the case.
The dispute pertains to California’s minimum floor space requirements and other housing regulations for egg-laying hens.
In 2025, the Trump administration filed its original lawsuit against the chicken housing rules, arguing they’ve inflated the price of eggs for American consumers.
That complaint was dismissed earlier this year after the judge determined the U.S. government hadn’t adequately demonstrated an injury from California’s regulations, meaning it lacked standing to pursue the case in federal court.
After the Trump administration filed an amended lawsuit, California argued that version still suffered from the same defects and urged the judge to throw out the case again.
However, this time, the judge has found that the updated lawsuit sufficiently pleads an injury to the U.S. government’s interests to establish standing.
The additional facts included in the new complaint raise a “plausible inference” that California’s regulations undermine the USDA’s “regulatory scheme” for enforcing the Egg Products Inspection Act, which is meant to ensure uniform egg standards across state lines.
The U.S. government and other critics of California’s rules argue that the regulations force out-of-state egg producers to modify their operations in order to gain access to that sales market.
In its amended lawsuit, the Trump administration argues the EPIA pre-empts California’s regulations, as they impose different egg standards than the USDA”s.
According to the judge, the revised lawsuit was still “more sparsely pleaded” than a comparable legal precedent, as “specific allegations” regarding the impacts on USDA are “notably absent.”
“But the complaint supports an inference that the Department of Agriculture not only has exercised its authority to promulgate regulations, but also is exercising its authority to enforce or administer those regulations,” the ruling said.
Even though the Trump administration has established standing in the case, the litigation has been halted for now because the judge is allowing California to appeal his ruling.
Ordinarily, legal issues in federal lawsuits can only be appealed once a final judgment has been issued.
However, the judge said he will permit an “interlocutory appeal” on whether the lawsuit should be dismissed, since the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals could “provide clarity” on a complicated legal issue.
Also, if the 9th Circuit decides the federal government lacks standing, then allowing an appeal now could “avoid expensing significant time and resources,” the judge said.