The Washington Restaurant Association, which opposes King County's plan to mandate that chain restaurants label their menus with nutritional information, is lauding a New York court decision that essentially strikes down a similar plan.

In U.S. District Court in Manhattan, a judge ruled in favor of the New York State Restaurant Association, which challenged a similar menu labeling plan enacted by the New York City Board of Health.

The Washington State Restaurant Association (WRA) applauded the New York court decision, with officials saying that King County's mandate that was enacted in July and takes effect next year is in jeopardy.

"We are hopeful that the findings in New York City will compel the King County board of health to come back to the table and work in partnership with the industry. While we believe obesity is an issue we must address as a community, the WRA strongly opposed the board's menu labeling requirement this summer," said Anthony Anton, WRA president and CEO, in a statement.

The King County board of health plan would require chain restaurants with more than 10 national locations to display calorie, fat, sodium and carbohydrate information on menus. Restaurants would have until Aug. 1, 2008 to put the information on menus and menu boards.