Colorado’s lawsuit against the proposed Kroger and Albertsons merger worth $24.6 billion will carry on, a Denver District Court judge ruled Wednesday.
The grocery stores operating the King Soopers and Safeway brands in Colorado asked the court to drop the case brought forth by Attorney General Phil Weiser arguing a local ruling shouldn’t have the power to create widespread affects on its national operations.
The court disagreed. It said because the grocers operate in Colorado, they’re also accountable to uphold the state’s monopoly laws.
Kroger argued because it is facing a similar lawsuit from federal officials then the state’s case is redundant, but Denver’s court said it “would be at odds with numerous rulings recognizing states as co-equal antitrust enforcers,” according to the court documents.