A shopper exits a King Soopers grocery store on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024, in Capitol Hill in Denver. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced the filing of a lawsuit to block the Kroger/Albertsons merger on the basis of eliminating competition during a news conference. The Kroger Co.
Besides the administrative challenge of the merger, the FTC has filed a lawsuit in federal court in Oregon to prevent Kroger from acquiring Albertsons pending resolution of the administrative proceeding. The lawsuit by Kroger contends the federal agency’s actions are unconstitutional because “the FTC intends to adjudicate Kroger’s private rights within the partisan Executive Branch rather than the independent Judiciary.
A spokeswoman for the FTC declined to comment Tuesday on Kroger’s lawsuit. She said the administrative proceeding has technically started, but only to open the record of the process.