SB264 Summary

• Prohibits civil lawsuits against food packers, distributors, sellers, marketers, and advertisers for claims arising from weight gain, obesity, or health conditions associated with long-term food consumption, provided they comply with applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.

• Creates two narrow exceptions allowing lawsuits: (1) claims involving material violations of food adulteration or misbranding requirements where the violation proximately caused injury, or (2) claims based on knowing and willful violations of federal or state food laws applicable to manufacturing, marketing, distribution, advertising, labeling, or sale.

• Requires complaints in exempt actions to state with particularity the specific statute or law allegedly violated, each element of the cause of action with supporting facts, and specific facts demonstrating proximate causation of injury.

• Stays all discovery and non-motion-related proceedings until a motion to dismiss is resolved, unless the court finds particularized discovery is necessary to preserve evidence or prevent undue prejudice.

• Does not apply to food manufacturers, create new claims not previously existing under Alabama law, or interfere with agency jurisdiction over adulteration and misbranding violations; applies retroactively to all pending claims and future claims regardless of when the claim arose.