COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - A federal judge dismissed four grocery chains from a lawsuit Confederate flag supporter Maurice Bessinger brought after they cleared his barbecue sauces from shelves three years ago.

A suit against Harris Teeter is the only one remaining in federal court after U.S. District Judge Joe Anderson ruled Bessinger's claims against Sam's, Wal-Mart, Food Lion and Winn-Dixie lacked enough merit to move forward. Four grocers are involved in state court lawsuits.

Bessinger, who runs a chain of barbecue restaurants, claimed the stores dumped his sauces because of his views on race and religion. His lawyer says he'll continue to fight the remaining suits.

Bessinger's lawyer, Glen LaForce, said he will ask the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn Anderson. Bessinger wants $50 million and claims the businesses violated the state's Unfair Trade Practices Act and his First Amendment right to free speech.

If the chains win, they will have established an "offensiveness meter" for their suppliers, LaForce argued.

The stores pulled Bessinger's sauces when he ended up in the news more frequently during the Statehouse Confederate flag debate and with reports of the literature he sells at his restaurants. The titles include: "The South Was Right," "Myths of American Slavery," and a pamphlet that purports to document President Lincoln's hypocrisy, treachery and intrigue.

Bessinger's leanings should not be a consideration and food stores should not be in the business of worrying about what their suppliers think, LaForce said. "We don't care if the president of the pickle company believes that aliens have landed. Are the pickles good?"

Anderson turned the tables on that argument. If customers boycott a store because they dislike the owner's politics, would it be fair for the owner to sue the customer, he asked.

The judge's decision relieved the chains. Lawyers for those companies said they're free to carry whatever product they want.

"What they're attempting to do is make us sell their product," said Virginia attorney Cheryl Falvey, representing Food Lion.

Sam's and Wal-Mart made a business decision not to offend customers, said Ray Moore, who represented those chains. "And they have a business prerogative to do that."

"I have an absolute right not to deal with someone regardless of the reason," Winn-Dixie lawyer Don Cockrill said. He noted the Dixie Chicks did not sue stores or radio stations that turned against them after they criticized President Bush for the war in Iraq.

Information from: The State