A New York appeals court has upheld a ruling striking down New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's latest health push: his controversial ban on large sugary drinks.

The ban, which would have prohibited the sale of sodas and other sugary beverages larger than 16 ounces by restaurants and city eateries, was an illegal overreach of executive power, the state appeals court ruled Tuesday, upholding a lower court decision in March that struck down the law.

The law "violated the state principle of separation of powers," the First Department of the state Supreme Court's Appellate Division said in a unanimous decision.

A state supreme court justice in Manhattan had ruled the new regulation was "arbitrary and capricious" in March a day before the regulation was due to take effect, ruling it invalid after the American Beverage Association and other business groups sued New York City, challenging the ban.

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