New York Attorney General Letitia James asked the state’s top court to consider halting New York City’s foie gras ban, pitting the state versus the city in a battle over the French delicacy in New York’s highest tribunal.
The ban “threatens farm operations in agricultural districts across the State,” James wrote in a petition filed July 27 asking the New York Court of Appeals to take up the case after she lost to the city in a lower court.
She argued the city was usurping the state’s authority and threatening the livelihood of foie gras farmers statewide.
James’ petition, provided to Bloomberg Law by her office, is the latest in a long-running legal tussle over the ban and offers the Court of Appeals the chance to have the final word. The motion is a procedural step asking the court if James can formally appeal the lower court decision.
An intermediate appeals court earlier this year ruled in favor of the city and against the state, saying the prohibition was lawful. The intermediate court had said that local governments are not limited in lawmaking “by potential effects to agricultural districts elsewhere.” That decision reversed a trial court that had ruled in favor of James.
The city had initially sued after the state’s agriculture commissioner moved to block the law from taking effect.
New York has a protective statute for farmers that prohibits local laws impinging on their work, James argued in her petition on Monday. Nothing in that statute’s “text, history, or purpose suggests the Legislature intended to leave the Commissioner powerless” against local laws like the city foie gras ban, she wrote.
The case raises important questions for the state’s highest tribunal to resolve, she added: “After all, if a large locality like New York City decided simply to ban the marketing of dairy products, eggs, or apples, all of which are produced on farms in agricultural districts, the overall impact on New York State’s agricultural economy would be considerable.”
A coalition of foie gras farmers filed a separate petition on Monday asking the Court of Appeals to take up the case and reverse the intermediate court.
The New York City Council passed the ban in 2019, saying foie gras is inhumane because it requires the force-feeding of ducks and geese. California has passed a statewide version of such a ban.
The Court of Appeals hasn’t yet said if it will hear the appeal. The city has said it won’t start enforcing the prohibition until there’s a final, nonappealable ruling.
The case is City of New York v. Ball, N.Y., motion for leave 7/27/26.