Kroger sues FTC, calling its in-house judges unconstitutional

By Jody Godoy

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Kroger sued the U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Monday, seeking to block the regulator from reviewing the grocery chain's proposed $25 billion merger with smaller rival Albertsons in its in-house tribunal.

Kroger called the tribunal unconstitutional, saying the matter should be resolved in a federal court.

The lawsuit filed in Cincinnati comes a week before the company is scheduled to face a trial where the FTC has asked a federal judge in Portland, Oregon, to temporarily block the merger while its in-house judges review the deal.

The FTC said in a lawsuit filed in February that the deal will raise prices for millions of Americans and squeeze the labor market for unionized grocery store workers.

That in-house review could take years, Kroger said in the lawsuit.

Kroger Chairman Rodney McMullen said in a statement that the company is "prepared to defend this merger in the upcoming trial in federal court – the appropriate venue for this matter to be heard."

"We are asking the court to halt what amounts to an unlawful proceeding before the FTC's own in-house tribunal," he said.

A spokesperson for the FTC declined to comment.

(Reporting by Jody Godoy in New York; editing by Jonathan Oatis)