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From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Black Death Vodka Fights Back: The importers of Black Death vodka have sued the government in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, seeking substantial damages and an injunction preventing the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms from withdrawing label approval for the vodka. In April, federal officials notified Cabo Distributing Co. of South El Monte, importers of Black Death, that sale of the vodka would be banned in June. The bureau said it acted because the Black Death name and the grinning skull logo combined to create the misleading impression of poison. The suit contends that federal officials exceeded their statutory authority and violated the constitutional rights of the plaintiffs.
