Federal Court Issues Preliminary Injunction Regarding New Mexico’s PFAS Labeling Law

On September 16, 2026, in American Chemistry Council v. Kenney, the District of New Mexico issued a preliminary injunction enjoining enforcement of the New Mexico PFAS labeling requirement (N.M. Code R. § 20.13.2.13) while the litigation is pending. 

Among other things, the court found that plaintiffs had demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits of their First Amendment challenge to New Mexico’s PFAS labeling requirement. The court found that plaintiffs are unlikely to establish that the mandated disclosure requires more than disclosure of purely factual information or that the mandated disclosure is controversial.  

However, the court also found that plaintiffs are likely to establish that there is no reasonable fit between New Mexico’s stated interest and the means employed to achieve that interest. Because New Mexico characterized the required label as a “consumer awareness label,” and not a “warning label,” the court found that New Mexico “destroy[ed] the connection between the purpose of the required disclosure—to promote consumer and environmental health—and the means employed to realize that purpose, which in other instances is achieved with a warning.”

The order granting the preliminary injunction in American Chemistry Council v. Kenney, 26-cv-02130-MIS-SCY (D.N.M.) can be found here.