Beckie Boddie v. United States District Court for the District of Maryland

The Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 41 et seq., authorizes the Federal Trade Commission to seek, “in proper cases,” a “permanent injunction” in federal district court. 15 U.S.C. § 53(b). The Fifth Amendment provides that “[n]o person shall ... be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” U.S. Const, amend. V. The questions presented are:

1. Whether the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment is violated when, in an FTC enforcement action, a federal court disposes of a nonparty owner’s real property without notice or a hearing and then forecloses appellate review on the ground that the owner was not a party below.

2. Whether Section 13(b) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 53(b), which authorizes the Commission to seek only injunctive relief, empowers a district court to enter a redress plan order that rewrites a nonparty owner’s private contracts and disposes of the nonparty’s real property.