Kroger’s $25 billion proposed takeover of rival Albertsons ultimately failed because two judges – one federal and the other from the state of Washington – didn’t buy the competitive vision the grocers were trying to sell,

Grocery workers in the Puget Sound region were relieved as a merger between Albertsons and Kroger broke down. The two grocery giants that had planned to merge are now at loggerheads. Albertsons announced it’s pulling out of the agreement with Kroger, and is suing the company for breach of contract.

This story originally appeared in the Oregon Capital Chronicle. Judges in Oregon and Washington on Tuesday blocked supermarket giants Kroger and Albertsons from merging, throwing into question the future of the largest proposed grocery merger in U.