Retail Memo: New Seasons Market Files New Motions to 'Quash' Whole Foods Market, Inc.'s Subpoena For its Private Records

Whole Foods Market, Inc., New Seasons Market, and the Subpoena

Portland, Oregon USA-based New Seasons Market, a privately-owned nine-store natural foods retailer that was subpoened along with 95 other U.S. natural foods retailers by Whole Foods Market, Inc.'s outside legal counsel as part of its case against the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's challenge to its acquisition of Wild Oats Market, Inc. last summer, has filed new motions to "quash" the subpoena from Whole Foods' demanding the independent natural grocer turn over its sales, financial and related records to the lawyers.

You can read the two new legal motions New Seasons Market's lawyers have filed at these links: Non- Party New Seasons Market Inc.'s. Motion for Leave to File Reply and Declaration of Robert Newell.

New Seasons Market had earlier filed a "motion to quash" Whole Foods Market, Inc.'s subpoena with the FTC. The natural grocer's motion asked that it not be required to turn over its private sales and financial records to Whole Foods' lawyers. Whole Foods then filed a response to New Seasons' motion, offering its arguments as to why New Seasons market should comply with the subpoena and turn over its records.

The new motions filed by New Seasons Market are in response to Whole Foods' response to the original "motion to quash" filed by New Seasons Market after receiving the subpoena from Whole Foods. Yes, the process is much like a legal version of table tennis.

No decision has been made yet by the FTC regarding New seasons first and new motions. The Portland natural foods chain hasn't complied with Whole Foods' subpoena. According to Brian Rohter, the CEO of New Seasons Market, the subpoena required a response by November 4, 2008. As of last week only about half of the 96 natural products retailers who received the same subpoena to turn over their sales, financial and related records had done so.

In his New Seasons Market company Blog today, CEO Rohter offers an update on the Portland, Oregon natural foods retailer's battle to quash Whole Foods Market's subpoena for its private records. New Season's is a privately-held company and is therefore not required to release its sales and income data like publicly-held corporation are required to do.

You can read New Season's Market CEO Brian Rohter's update posted in the Blog today here.

FTC v. Whole Foods - Whole Foods v. FTC: Recent Natural-Specialty Foods Memo linkage:

December, 15, 2008: Retail Memo: Eight Members of U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Send Letter to FTC Chairman Regarding FTC's Legal Case Against Wild Oats' Acquisition.... December, 13, 2008: Retail Memo - Analysis & Commentary: More On FTC v. Whole Foods Market, Inc. and Whole Foods Market, Inc. v. FTC.... December 9, 2008: Organics Category Memo: Wither Organics? Organic Food & Grocery Category Sales Down; But Double-Digit Growth Still Likley With Mass Market Lift....December 9, 2008: Retail Memo: Whole Foods Markets' 'Whole Legal Paycheck:' Three Top Washington, D.C. Law Firms Teaming Up On The Natural Grocery Chain's FTC Lawsuit....

December 9, 2008: Retail Memo: Whole Foods Market CEO John Mackey and Team Launch First Aggressive Attack Against the FTC's Legal Case at Press Conference This Morning....December 8, 2008: Retail Memo: Mr. Mackey (and the Whole Foods Market Troops) Goes to Washington....December 8, 2008: Retail Memo: Breaking News - Whole Foods Market, Inc. Files Lawsuit Against the FTC; Argues the Regulator Violated the Company's Due Process Rights....

December 7, 2008: Retail Memo: New Seasons Market CEO Brian Rohter and Whole Foods Market Co-President Walter Robb Discuss and Debate the Subpoena Issue Online....December 7, 2008: Retail Memo: New Seasons Market CEO Brian Rohter Speaks Out Again Today on the Whole Foods Market, Inc. Subpoena of His Company's Data....December 7, 2008: Retail Memo: Whole Foods Market Retains Top Washington D.C. lawyers and Politically-Connected Lobbyists to Plead its Case Against the FTC....

December 6, 2008: Retail Memo: Fast-Growing and Scrappy Sunflower Farmers Market Ventures Deep in the Heart of (Whole Foods Country) Texas....December 6, 2008: Retail Memo: Fast-Growing NF Chain Sunflower Farmers Market Responds to Whole Foods Market, Inc. Subpoena For Sales, Financial and Related Information....December 3, 2008: Retail Memo: More on the Whole Foods Market-New Seasons Market Subpoena Issue; FTC Holding Firm For February, 2009 Hearing....

December 2, 2008: Retail Memo: Whole Foods Market, Inc. Closes $425 Sale of Stock to Private Equity Firm; Adds Members of the Firm to its Board of Directors....December 2, 2008: Retail Memo: Portland, Oregon-Based New Seasons Market CEO Brian Rohter Responds to Whole Foods Market's Paige Brady....December 2, 2008: Retail Memo: Whole Foods' Paige Brady Responds to Yesterday's New Seasons Market Piece; Lots of E-Mails; Issue Heats Up On the New Seasons Market Blog....December 1, 2008: Retail Memo: Whole Foods Wants A Court-Mandated Financial Records Dump from Portland-based New Seasons Market; it Says For its Battle Against the FTC.

FTC v. Whole Foods: Linkage from the Natural~Specialty Foods Memo archives:

Click here, here and here for stories about the FTC-Whole Foods issue from our archives.