Charles M. English

Bar Admissions

• District of Columbia
• Maryland
• Virginia

Court Admissions

• Court of Appeals of Maryland
• Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia
• Supreme Court of Virginia

Education

• University of Virginia School of Law (J.D., 1984)
• University of Virginia (B.S., 1981)

Charles M. English

Experience

Chip English chairs Ober|Kaler’s Food and Agriculture Group, is a member of the firm's Litigation Group, and has developed a constitutional law practice for the firm. Chip serves as outside general counsel for business and trade association clients and is one of the firm’s seasoned federal court litigators. His litigation practice covers a wide range of complex litigation, including jury trials, from general commercial disputes to the defense of clients in enforcement actions and investigations initiated by state and federal agencies.

Chip has developed a broad and successful constitutional law practice in the course of his representation of agricultural and food production companies and other entities. His work has involved Commerce Clause, preemption and First Amendment commercial speech issues. In these cases, Chip has led successful teams in constitutional cases in U.S. District Courts, U.S. courts of appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court.

His clients have included waste haulers, automotive companies, energy companies, nurseries, dairy farmers, milk processors and state agencies.

Chip successfully sought certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court involving aspects of the negative Commerce Clause and the Privileges and Immunities Clause and as successor counsel, he successfully tried and defended on appeal a Commerce Clause case that was on remand after a reversal with adverse instructions for the client, a state agency.

Chip also represents numerous food and agriculture clients before state and federal agencies and in the litigation that arises out of such proceedings. Chip has worked for more than fifteen years in organic farming regulation and is experienced in food and drug law and antitrust law relating to agriculture. He represents processor and producer groups in all hearings before the USDA and was active in the Federal Milk Market Order Reform rule-making proceedings mandated by the 1996 Farm Bill. Chip has obtained numerous favorable agency rulings on behalf of his clients and has successfully defended them in federal court on multiple occasions. 

In addition, because of his mastery of state and federal marketing order regulations, Chip has served as regulatory counsel in numerous mergers and acquisitions and has represented and advised unsecured creditors committees regarding operation and interaction of federal and state milk marketing order regulations. Chip is also well-versed in other agriculture regulatory programs, including the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA), food labeling, food safety and standards of identity.

Chip also provides legislative support and lobbying at both the state and federal levels and was involved in the formulation of the 1990 and 1996 Farm Bills as well as the Milk Regulatory Equity Act of 2005.

Representative Cases

- Carlin, et al. v. Dairy America, Inc. et al., 690 F.Supp.2d 11 (E.D. Cal. 2010), appeal pending Case No. 10-16448 (9th Cir. Oral Argument August 31, 2011).

- Hein Hettinga et al v. United States, 770 F.Supp.2d 51 (D.D.C.2011), on appeal to the D.C. Circuit (oral argument on December 12, 2011)

- International Dairy Foods Ass’n v. Boggs. 622 F.3d 628 (6th Cir.2010) Reversed a U.S. District Court summary judgment granted against client resulting in summary judgment in favor of client on critical First Amendment issues; case was remanded to District Court for final decision on the merits. Case settled after remand, with Ohio withdrawing its entire regulation scheduled for January 2012

-  Hein Hettinga et al. v. Vilsack, 9th Cir. No. 10-15140 (April 21, 2011), 2011 WL 1522458 (2010)

- Cloverland-Greenspring v. Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board, 462 F. 3rd 249 (3rd Cir. 2006). Affirmed summary judgment in favor of client in defending a state agency against a commerce clause challenge

- Calliari v. Sargento. 9th Cir. 10-35736 (July 7, 2011)

- Tony Vittrano Company v. Dave’s Wholesale et al, Case No. 1:08-cv-02998-CCB (D. MD 2008)

- Edaleen Dairy LLC v. Johanns, 467 F. 3rd 778 (D.C. Cir. 2006)

- Hillside Dairy v. Lyons, 123 S.Ct. 2142 (2003) (reversing and remanding for decision on the merits); 317 F. Supp.2d 1194 (E.D. CA 2004) (merits decision in favor of plaintiffs)

- California Association of Nursery Growers v. Farmer, Case No. 04-38-JMH (E.D. KY 2004)

Professional Memberships

• Agriculture Law Association
• American Bar Association
  • Section on Administrative Law
  • Section on Litigation

Honoraries

• Listed in Washington, DC Super Lawyers, FDA and Administrative Law, 2007