07/20/05 Potato commission awaits court decision

The Idaho Potato Commission spent a lot of money on a lawsuit stemming from an incident in New York several years ago where two companies were repacking Idaho potatoes without a license. Idaho's case was built around contracts, licenses and the fact that the Potato Commission had no control over what New Yorkers were repacking. After getting an injunction which halted the repacking, the commission ended up defending itself in another New York lawsuit over the validity of the licensing contract. Deputy Attorney General Michael Gilmore says that's when the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Idaho. GILMORE "And they ruled that that contract was unenforceable, that federal law prohibited the Idaho Potato Commission from enforcing that contract because there was a public interest in challenging these marks." Last week Gilmore went before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Seattle contending that the contracts were enforceable. If the court says that's the case then Gilmore can go back to court to try to recover 250 thousand dollars in legal fees spent by the Potato Commission. The Ninth Circuit does have two other high profile cases before it, one dealing with Canadian beef imports into the US and the other involving salmon and water spills. GILMORE "I would expect that only after both of those cases are decided would they get to this case." We'll let you know what happens in all three cases when the rulings are handed down. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott