Chocolate Manufacturers Association v. Block
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
755 F.2d 1098 (4th Cir. 1985)
The USDA (defendant) proposed a rule limiting sugar content in cereals for the WIC nutrition program, publishing notice and a preamble that discussed high-sugar foods generally but never mentioned flavored milk, which the proposed rule actually included among approved food packages; after receiving public comments, the USDA's final rule removed flavored milk entirely from the approved list, and the Chocolate Manufacturers Association (plaintiff) sued, arguing the agency failed to provide adequate notice that flavored milk's inclusion was even under consideration. The district court denied relief, and CMA appealed.
Whether an agency's final rule, which changes course from its originally proposed rule in a way not discussed in the notice of proposed rulemaking, satisfies the APA's notice requirement when the change is not a logical outgrowth of the original proposal and comments.