AMG Capital Management v. FTC: The Court's Ruling on Monetary Relief
Channel: The Committee for Justice
Date: 02/05/2021

Does the FTC's authority under Section 13(b) of the Federal Trade Commission Act, which explicitly allows the FTC to obtain permanent injunctions in federal court without conducting administrative proceedings, implicitly include the power to seek monetary relief such as restitution or disgorgement? This question has loomed over the FTC since the late 1990s, when the Commission began to use §13(b) to seek restitution, disgorgement, and other equitable monetary relief.

On April 22, 2021, the Supreme Court decided AMG Capital Management, LLC v. Federal Trade Commission and answered that question with a decisive no, unanimously and categorically rejecting the Commission’s expansive reading of §13(b).

Additionally, Justice Stephen Breyer, writing for the Court, suggested that if the FTC's unchallenged authority to seek monetary awards after administrative proceedings is inadequate, the Commission should ask Congress for greater remedial authority. The debate has now shifted across the street to Congress, which considered such a request from the FTC last year.

Our panel of experts discuss the decision and its implications.

Featuring:

Alden Abbott, Senior Research Fellow, Mercatus Center, George Mason University; former General Counsel, Federal Trade Commission

John Vecchione, Senior Litigation Counsel, New Civil Liberties Alliance