MONTVALE, N.J. — Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. has asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by A&P over comparative pricing in advertising.

Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. has asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by A&P over comparative pricing in advertising.

Quincy, Mass.-based Stop & Shop, a unit of Ahold USA, charged that A&P wants to keep its customers in the dark about how its prices stack up against the competition.

"A&P’s motion is just the latest in a series of attempts by A&P to impermissibly prevent Stop & Shop from engaging in truthful, accurate commercial speech regarding the respective prices of Stop & Shop and its competitors on similar products," Stop & Shop’s attorneys wrote in their filing.

A&P had filed its lawsuit last month in the U.S. District Court in White Plains, N.Y., claiming that Stop & Shop lied about A&P’s prices in ads.

On the same day it filed that lawsuit A&P announced plans to close 25 stores in five states as part of its turnaround efforts under new president and chief executive officer Sam Martin.

The outlets include those located near other company stores, those facing real estate or cost issues, and underperforming non-core stores. A&P expects to complete the closures in its fiscal third quarter.