Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Publishers Business Services, Inc., et al. v. Federal Trade Commission
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, No. 17-15600 · judgment August 31, 2018
Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.
Questions presented
Two months ago the Seventh Circuit split with eight circuits over a crucial issue that has transformed Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) enforcement actions. The court held the plain text of the FTC Act’s injunction statute, § 13(b), excludes implied remedies for monetary relief. FTC v. Credit Bureau Ctr., LLC, 937 F.3d 764, 767 (7th Cir. 2019). The Credit Bureau decision openly acknowledged the circuit split it caused. All other circuits to address the issue read § 13(b)’s specifically delineated remedies of forward-looking injunctions as implicit authorization to award equitable monetary relief. Though supposedly grounded in the courts’ inherent equity powers, these monetary awards have proved to be exceedingly punitive, almost unlimited in amount, often imposed jointly and severally, and untethered to procedures, notions of proximate causation, and limitations Congress required elsewhere in the FTC Act. In this case, the Ninth Circuit affirmed a joint and several disgorgement award of almost $24 million, though the individual Petitioners received only a minute fraction of that amount. In a companion FTC action argued and decided by the Ninth Circuit with this case, FTC v. AMG Capital Mgt., et al., 16- 17197 (9th Cir.), the joint and several award was nearly $1.3 billion. App., infra, 8a. The questions presented are:
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Whether a district court can award monetary relief under § 13(b) of the FTC Act, consistent with separation-of-powers principles; and
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Whether a monetary disgorgement award under § 13(b) of the FTC Act is a penalty and therefore outside a district court’s inherent equity powers.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Peter Winslow Homer
Homer Bonner Jacobs, P.A.
For respondent
Brian H. Fletcher
Acting Solicitor General
Proceedings
- Jun 04 2021JUDGMENT ISSUED.
- May 03 2021Petition GRANTED. Judgment VACATED and case REMANDED for further consideration in light of AMG Capital Management, LLC v. FTC, 593 U. S. ___ (2021).
- Apr 26 2021DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/30/2021.
- Jul 08 2020DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 7/8/2020.
- Jun 30 2020Supplemental brief of petitioners Publishers Business Services, Inc., et al. filed.
- Jun 29 2020DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 7/1/2020.
- Jun 22 2020DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/25/2020.
- Apr 28 2020DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/15/2020.
- Apr 02 2020Rescheduled.
- Apr 01 2020DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/17/2020.
- Jan 02 2020Rescheduled.
- Dec 23 2019DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/10/2020.
- Dec 23 2019Reply of petitioners Publishers Business Services, Inc., et al. filed.
- Dec 20 2019Letter waiving the 14-day waiting period for the distribution of the petition under Rule 15.5 filed.
- Dec 13 2019Brief of respondent Federal Trade Commission in opposition filed.
- Nov 19 2019Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including December 18, 2019.
- Nov 18 2019Brief amicus curiae of Washington Legal Foundation filed. VIDED.
- Nov 18 2019Motion to extend the time to file a response from November 18, 2019 to December 18, 2019, submitted to The Clerk.
- Nov 13 2019Brief amicus curiae of Cause of Action Institute filed. VIDED
- Oct 18 2019Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due November 18, 2019)
- Sep 05 2019Application (19A255) granted by Justice Kagan extending the time to file until October 18, 2019.
- Aug 30 2019Application (19A255) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from September 17, 2019 to October 18, 2019, submitted to Justice Kagan.