Bloomberg to Appeal Ruling on Soda Ban

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's office said today it will appeal a judge's 11th-hour ruling against a ban on big sugary drinks in New York City, the New York Times reports. "We plan to appeal the decision as soon as possible, and we are confident the Board of Health’s decision will ultimately be upheld," said a Bloomberg aide. Bloomberg's administration was already planning to enforce the ban and was shocked to hear of the decision by New York Supreme Court Judge Milton Tingling.

The judge said the ban was laden with loopholes and "fraught with arbitrary and capricious consequences." He also accused the city Board of Health of overstepping its bounds by banning a legal item without there being an immediate threat of disease, the Wall Street Journal reports. Set to kick in tomorrow, the ban would have prohibited venues from mobile food carts to restaurants from selling sugar-laden drinks bigger than 16 oz. The rules would not have affected convenience stores and supermarkets, which fall under state law. (More Michael Bloomberg stories.)