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On April 20, 2021, in anticipation of an adverse Supreme Court ruling, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a hearing titled, “Strengthening the Federal Trade Commission’s Authority to Protect Consumers.” Two days after the hearing, on April 22, 2021,
the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Section 13(b) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (the “Act”) does not authorize the FTC to seek, or a court to award, equitable monetary relief such as restitution or disgorgement. At the hearing, the four currently serving FTC Commissioners presented testimony urging Congress to amend the Act to expressly provide the authority that the Supreme Court found not to presently exist.
In
AMG Capital Management, LLC, et al. v. Federal
Trade Commission, the Supreme Court of the United States
held that the FTC does not have the authority under Section 13(b) ( Temporary restraining
orders; preliminary injunctions ) of the Federal Trade
Commission Act (the Act ) to seek equitable monetary
relief.
Justice Breyer delivered the Opinion for a unanimous Court, in
which the Court stated that the FTC - in seeking restitution and
disgorgement pursuant to Section 13(b) - acted in accordance with its increasing tendency to use Section 13(b) to seek
monetary awards without prior use of the Commission s
traditional administrative process.