Source: http://openjurist.org/print/209224
Timestamp: 2015-10-14 04:29:03
Document Index: 334784832

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 552', '§ 2076', '§ 2076', '§ 1905', '§ 2055', '§ 1337', '§ 701', '§ 552', '§ 1404']

598 F2d 790 Gte Sylvania Incorporated v. Consumer Product Safety Commission O R Rca Corporation
Home > 598 F2d 790 Gte Sylvania Incorporated v. Consumer Product Safety Commission O R Rca Corporation
598 F2d 790 Gte Sylvania Incorporated v. Consumer Product Safety Commission O R Rca Corporation 598 F.2d 790
5 Media L. Rep. 1477
GTE SYLVANIA, INCORPORATEDv.CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION, Richard O. Simpson,Barbara Franklin, Lawrence Kushner, ConstanceNewman, R. David Pittle, Sadye Dunn,Vince DeLuise.RCA CORPORATIONv.UNITED STATES CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION, Richard O.Simpson, Barbara H. Franklin, Lawrence M. Kushner,Constance E. Newman, R. David Pittle,Sadye E. Dunn, and Vince DeLuise.The MAGNAVOX COMPANYv.Richard O. SIMPSON, Chairman, Consumer Product SafetyCommission, Barbara Franklin, Commissioner, Consumer ProductSafety Commission, Lawrence Kushner, Commissioner, ConsumerProduct Safety Commission, Constance Newman, Commissioner,Consumer Product Safety Commission, R. David Pittle,Commissioner, Consumer Product Safety Commission, SadyeDunn, Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission, andVince DeLuise, Freedom Information Officer, Consumer ProductSafety Commission, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission.ZENITH RADIO CORPORATIONv.Richard O. SIMPSON, Chairman, Consumer Product SafetyCommission, Barbara Franklin, Commissioner, Consumer ProductSafety Commission, Lawrence Kushner, Commissioner, ConsumerProduct Safety Commission, Constance Newman, Commissioner,Consumer Product Safety Commission, R. David Pittle,Commissioner, Consumer Product Safety Commission, SadyeDunn, Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission, andVince DeLuise, Freedom Information Officer, Consumer ProductSafety Commission, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission.MOTOROLA, INC.v.Richard O. SIMPSON, Barbara Franklin, Lawrence Kushner,Constance Newman, R. David Pittle, Sadye Dunn,Vince DeLuise and Consumer ProductSafety Commission.WARWICK ELECTRONICS, INC.v.Richard O. SIMPSON, Barbara Franklin, Lawrence Kushner,Constance Newman, R. David Pittle, Sadye Dunn,Vince DeLuise, and Consumer ProductSafety Commission.FORD AEROSPACE & COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATIONv.Richard O. SIMPSON, Barbara Franklin, Lawrence Kushner,Constance Newman, R. David Pittle, Sadye Dunn,Vince DeLuise, and Consumer ProductSafety Commission.ADMIRAL CORPORATION, a corporationv.UNITED STATES of America and Consumer Product SafetyCommission and Individually the Members Thereof asIndividuals and as Members of the Consumer Product SafetyCommission, Richard Simpson, Chairman, Dr. Lawrence Kushner,Vice Chairman, Barbara Hackman Franklin, Commissioner,Constance E. Newman, Commissioner, Dr. R. David Pittle,Commissioner, Sadye E. Dunn, Secretary.GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANYv.Richard O. SIMPSON, Chairman, R. David Pittle, Commissioner,Lawrence M. Kushner, Commissioner, Constance E. Newman,Commissioner, Barbara Hackman Franklin, Commissioner, SadyeE. Dunn, Secretary, and Consumer Product SafetyCommission.MATSUSHITA ELECTRIC CORPORATION OF AMERICA, a Corp. of Delawarev.CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION, Richard O. Simpson,Barbara Franklin, Lawrence Kushner, Constance E.Newman, R. David Pittle, Sadye E. Dunn,Vince DeLuise.SHARP ELECTRONICS CORPORATIONv.UNITED STATES CONSUMER PRODUCTS SAFETY COMMISSION, RichardO. Simpson, Barbara H. Franklin, Lawrence M.Kushner, Constance E. Newman, R. DavidPittle, Sadye E. Dunn, Vince DeLuise.TOSHIBA AMERICA, INC.v.CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION, Richard O. Simpson,Barbara Franklin, Lawrence Kushner, Constance E.Newman, R. David Pittle, Sadye E. Dunn,Vince DeLuise.Appeal of CONSUMER PRODUCTS SAFETY COMMISSION.
No. 78-1328.
Argued Jan. 8, 1979.Decided April 30, 1979.As Amended May 11, 1979.
Barbara Allen Babcock, Asst. Atty. Gen., Washington, D. C., James W. Garvin, Jr., U. S. Atty., Wilmington, Del., Leonard Schaitman, Mark N. Mutterperl (argued), Attys., Appellate Section, Civ. Div., Dept. of Justice, Washington, D. C., for appellant.
Harry L. Shniderman, James M. McHaney, Jr., Covington & Burling, Washington, D. C., for appellees GTE Sylvania, Incorporated and Ford Aerospace & Communications Corp.
Bernard G. Segal, Charles C. Hileman, III (argued), Deena Jo Schneider, Schnader, Harrison, Segal & Lewis, Philadelphia, Pa., for appellee RCA Corp.
Robert W. Steele, Alan M. Grimaldi, Howrey & Simon, Washington, D. C., H. James Conaway, Jr., Young, Conaway, Stargatt & Taylor, Wilmington, Del., for appellee General Electric Co.
Richard J. Abrams, Richards, Layton & Finger, Wilmington, Del., for appellee The Magnavox Co.
Januar D. Bove, Jr., Connolly, Bove & Lodge, Wilmington, Del., for appellee Zenith Radio Corp.
Stephen B. Clarkson, Sullivan, Beauregard, Clarkson, Moss, Brown & Johnson, Washington, D. C., for appellees The Magnavox Company and Zenith Radio Corp.
Walter T. Kuhlmey, Kirkland & Ellis, Chicago, Ill., for appellee Motorola, Inc.
Nancy L. Buc, Weil, Gotshal & Manges, Washington, D. C., for appellee Matsushita Electric Corporation of America.
Peter Garland, J. Portis Hicks, Wender, Murase & White, New York City, for appellee Sharp Electronics Corp.
David Fleischer, Battle, Fowler, Jaffin, Pierce & Kheel, New York City, for appellee Toshiba America, Inc.
Charles S. Crompton, Jr., Potter, Anderson & Corroon, Wilmington, Del., for appellees Motorola, Inc., Matsushita Electric Corporation of America, Inc., Sharp Electronics Corp., and Toshiba America, Inc.
Burton Y. Weitzenfeld, Michael A. Stiegel, Arnstein, Gluck, Weitzenfeld & Minow, Chicago, Ill., Howard M. Berg, Berg, Aber, Heckler & Wyatt, Wilmington, Del., for appellee Warwick Electronics, Inc.
H. Woodruff Turner, Bruce Wiegand, Kirkpatrick, Lockhart, Johnson & Hutchinson, Pittsburgh, Pa., for appellee Admiral Corp.
Alan B. Morrison (argued), Diane B. Cohn, Washington, D. C., for amici curiae Consumers Union of the United States, Inc. and Public Citizen's Health Research Group.
Charles E. Hill, Alan R. Schwartz, Washington, D. C., for amicus curiae Consumer Federation of America.
Before SEITZ, Chief Judge, and GIBBONS and HIGGINBOTHAM, Circuit Judges.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (the Commission) appeals from an order of the district court granting the plaintiffs' request for a permanent injunction prohibiting the Commission's disclosure of certain documents obtained under its statutory information-gathering authority. The Commission had earlier made an administrative determination to release the documents to members of the public under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552. This appeal requires us to resolve the parties' dispute concerning whether the Commission must comply with the information disclosure requirements of the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA) when it receives a request for documents under the FOIA.
The plaintiffs are twelve manufacturers of television receivers who brought separate actions against the Commission, which were consolidated in the District of Delaware, to prevent the Commission's disclosure of information concerning television-related accidents which they had submitted pursuant to special orders and subpoenas duces tecum issued by the Commission. Amici curiae, the Consumers Union of the United States, Inc. (Consumers Union) and the Public Citizen's Health Research Group (Health Research Group), seek access to that information under the FOIA and have urged this Court to vacate the district court's order for failure of the court and litigants in this action to attempt to join them as parties in compliance with Rule 19 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
A brief survey of the factual background of this litigation will illuminate the issues joined by the parties and amici. Further factual information may be gleaned from the three published opinions of the district court that form the backdrop to this appeal. See GTE Sylvania Inc. v. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 443 F.Supp. 1152 (D.Del.1977) (granting plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment and entering permanent injunction against the Commission); GTE Sylvania Inc. v. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 438 F.Supp. 208 (D.Del.1977) (denying Commission's motion to transfer this action to the District Court for the District of Columbia); GTE Sylvania Inc. v. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 404 F.Supp. 352 (D.Del.1975) (granting plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction).
Shortly after its creation in 1973, the Commission became concerned about the safety of television sets. That concern led to the publication, on March 22, 1974, of a notice of a proposed hearing concerning potential hazards to the public from the operation of television sets and a request that manufacturers submit all reports on television-related accidents that they had collected since 1969. 39 Fed.Reg. 10,929 (1974). Unsatisfied with the manufacturers' response to this request, the Commission issued special orders on May 13, 1974, pursuant to section 27(b)(1) of the CPSA, 15 U.S.C. § 2076(b)(1), requiring twenty-five television manufacturers to submit the information previously requested. In the cover letter accompanying the special orders the Commission encouraged compliance by stating that the information would be received in confidence and not made available to the public, at least initially. The Commission, noting the possibility that the submitted information might be the object of FOIA requests, instructed the manufacturers to identify documents claimed to be exempt from public disclosure. Most of the manufacturers followed this suggestion.
Still unsatisfied with the amount of data supplied by the manufacturers, the Commission, on July 26, 1974, issued subpoenas duces tecum to certain manufacturers, including all of the plaintiffs here, ordering each of them to furnish the Commission with "TV-related accident reports." The statutory authority for the issuance of such subpoenas is contained in section 27(b)(3) of the CPSA, 15 U.S.C. § 2076(b)(3).
The district court found, in its opinion granting plaintiffs' request for a preliminary injunction, that the Commission's definition of the data to be submitted was quite broad and was designed to include reports of accidents received by the manufacturers that were incomplete, unverified and even incorrect. Moreover, the court found that the Commission had never clearly defined a "TV-related accident," generating confusion among the manufacturers and causing the Commission itself to recognize that, while some manufacturers had submitted reports pertaining only to accidents caused by fire and electrical shock, others had included reports of accidents caused by TV tube implosions, carrying handle failures, unstable TV stands, and so forth. Other factors which would render the data collected by the Commission misleading for purposes of safety comparison among sets manufactured by different companies include the Commission's failure to enforce full compliance with the subpoenas and the fact that some manufacturers were, in the Commission's words, "more conscientious than others in maintaining television accident files." See 404 F.Supp. at 358-65.
In June, 1974, Consumers Union and the Health Research Group sought access under the FOIA to the accident reports submitted by the manufacturers in response to the Commission's special orders. The Commission considered the requests as applicable as well to information it later received pursuant to the subpoenas duces tecum. The Commission informed the manufacturers of these requests on August 2, 1974, and asked them to substantiate the claims that they had earlier made for exemptions from public disclosure. Meanwhile, the Commission retained a private firm to assist in the processing, analysis and summarization of the submitted accident reports. The information abstracted from each report was computerized and a computer print-out was prepared listing each accident reported by a manufacturer and cataloguing it by type. This printout does not account in any way for the factors found by the district court to render the data misleading for purposes of comparison. A Commission consultant also prepared a report summarizing the broad outlines of the data using industry-wide statistics. That report, unlike the print-out, does not identify particular manufacturers or television models, and its disclosure was not enjoined by the district court. See 443 F.Supp. at 1163.
After considering the manufacturers' claims of exemption from disclosure under the FOIA, the Commission decided to release to the requesters all of the TV-related accident data it had compiled, including the print-out, except for information identifying accident victims by name and documents subject to the work product doctrine and attorney-client privilege. This decision was based upon a memorandum prepared by the Commission's Office of General Counsel, which concluded that, "The release of the accident data would assist consumers to better evaluate the safety of TVs." The Commission informed the manufacturers of its final decision on April 8, 1975, and noted that the release of the data to the public would be accompanied by a disclaimer stating that "the information could be misleading because some television manufacturers maintained more complete accident records than other manufacturers."
The Commission's decision to release the submitted accident data and reports derived therefrom prompted the plaintiffs to commence suits in various federal judicial districts. After those actions were consolidated in the District of Delaware at the Commission's request and temporary restraining orders prohibiting disclosure were consented to by the Commission, the district court received briefs and heard oral argument on plaintiffs' request for a preliminary injunction. The plaintiffs contended that the Commission's release of the information submitted by them was barred by exemptions to the FOIA, by 18 U.S.C. § 1905, and by section 6 of the CPSA, 15 U.S.C. § 2055.
The district court held that it had jurisdiction over the subject matter of this suit under 28 U.S.C. § 1337, and that the Commission's decision to release the information requested was a final administrative determination subject to review under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 5 U.S.C. §§ 701-06. 404 F.Supp. at 365-67. This Court has subsequently agreed that "the APA provides a cause of action for enjoining an agency from disclosing submitter-generated information." Chrysler Corp. v. Schlesinger, 565 F.2d 1172, 1190 (3d Cir. 1977) (footnote omitted), Aff'd in relevant part sub nom., Chrysler Corp v. Brown, --- U.S. ----, ----, 99 S.Ct. 1705, 59 L.Ed.2d 208 (1979).1
After reviewing the administrative record, the court determined that the plaintiffs were entitled to a preliminary injunction based, in part, on their reasonable probability of success on the merits of their claim that the Consumer Product Safety Act itself barred the release of the requested information.
Section 6(b)(1) of the CPSA provides that the Commission shall, 30 days prior to the public disclosure of information obtained under the Act identifying individual manufacturers, notify those manufacturers and provide them with a reasonable opportunity to comment upon the information to be disclosed. Furthermore, prior to its public disclosure of information from which the identities of manufacturers may be readily ascertained, the Commission is required to take reasonable steps to assure that the information is accurate and that disclosure is fair in the circumstances and reasonably related to effectuating the purposes of the CPSA.
The district court rejected the Commission's contention that section 6(b)(1) does not apply to the disclosure of information pursuant to an FOIA request, and concluded that that section specifically exempted the requested information from disclosure within the meaning of FOIA Exemption 3, 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(3). 404 F.Supp. at 369-70. Furthermore, the court found that the Commission's release of the TV-related accident data would run afoul of all three of its affirmative obligations under section 6(b)(1) in that the Commission had not taken reasonable steps to assure that the information, from which the identity of the plaintiff manufacturers could be readily ascertained, was accurate, and in that disclosure of the requested information was neither fair in the circumstances nor reasonably related to effectuating the purposes of the CPSA. Id. 370-73. Concluding that the plaintiffs had also borne their burden of proof on the other requirements for a preliminary injunction, the district court granted the requested relief. Id. 373-75.
In July, 1977, the plaintiffs filed motions to make the preliminary injunction permanent. After the district court had denied the Commission's motion to transfer this litigation to the District of Columbia, where the requesters had commenced an action against the Commission and the manufacturers seeking enforcement of their FOIA request, the court ruled on the parties' cross-motions for summary judgment. Concluding that the Commission had presented no new facts warranting the modification of its earlier findings, and that no changes in the law had affected the validity of the legal reasoning in its earlier opinion, the district court held that the TV-related accident data, other than the consultant's report summarizing industry-wide statistics, was exempt from public disclosure by reason of the Commission's continued failure to comply with section 6(b)(1) of the CPSA. An order enjoining the Commission from disclosing the data to the public was entered on December 8, 1977. See 443 F.Supp. at 1162-63.2 This appeal followed.
It was the FOIA requests of the Consumers Union and the Health Research Group that prompted the Commission's decision to release the TV-related accident data and, in turn, triggered the manufacturers' decision to commence this litigation. However, in none of the individual actions brought by the manufacturers were the requesters named as parties. Nor have the Commission and the manufacturers made any subsequent effort to add the requesters as parties to this lawsuit. Similarly, up until the filing of this appeal, the requesters have made no move to intervene in this lawsuit. Rather, they chose to file a separate FOIA suit in the District of Columbia on May 5, 1975, joining all of the plaintiffs in this suit and the Commission as defendants.
The progress of the requesters' action in the District of Columbia has been tortuous. The district court dismissed their complaint on September 12, 1975, for failure to present a case or controversy with respect to the Commission and failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted against the manufacturers. That holding was based on the fact that the Commission was the only party which could afford the requesters the relief they sought under the FOIA, and that there was complete agreement between the requesters and the Commission on the central question of whether the documents at issue should be released. Consumers Union of United States, Inc. v. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 400 F.Supp. 848 (D.D.C.1975). The Court of Appeals reversed the order dismissing the requesters' complaint on July 5, 1977, holding that the parties' dispute over the scope and effect of the preliminary injunction that had been entered by the district court in this case "fully satisfie(d) the Article III case or controversy requirement." Consumers Union of United States, Inc. v. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 182 U.S.App.D.C. 351, 356, 561 F.2d 349, 354 (1977) (footnote omitted). In discussing that dispute, the Court of Appeals incorrectly assumed that the Delaware litigation had run its course without a final adjudication of the issue presented. Id., 182 U.S.App.D.C. 358, 561 F.2d 356. Rehearing was denied in spite of the fact that the manufacturers later moved in this case to make the preliminary injunction permanent. In a per curiam opinion attached to the order denying rehearing the court noted that the requesters were not parties to the Delaware litigation and stated that because all the necessary parties were present before the district court in the District of Columbia "there appears no reason why the litigation should not proceed here, particularly since this is the venue authorized by the FOIA." 184 U.S.App.D.C. 146, 147, 565 F.2d 721, 722 (1977).
While the manufacturers' petition for a writ of certiorari was pending the district court in Delaware entered its order granting their request for a permanent injunction. The Supreme Court granted certiorari, vacated the judgment of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and remanded the case "for further consideration in light of the permanent injunction . . . ." GTE Sylvania, Inc. v. Consumers Union of United States, Inc., 434 U.S. 1030, 98 S.Ct. 761, 54 L.Ed.2d 778 (1978). On remand, the Court of Appeals held that the permanent injunction obtained by the manufacturers in this litigation did not bar the requesters from litigating their separate FOIA action. Consumers Union of United States, Inc. v. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 192 U.S.App.D.C. 93, 590 F.2d 1209 (1978), Petition for cert. filed (No. 78-1248) (Feb. 19, 1979).
Appearing as amici curiae in this appeal, the requesters argue that the district court erred in failing to require the parties to this lawsuit to join them as defendants pursuant to Rule 19 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. They ask this Court to vacate the judgment below and direct the plaintiffs to attempt to join them as parties defendant. In the event such joinder is found to be impossible because of inability to obtain personal jurisdiction over them or improper venue, they ask us to direct the district court to dismiss this action pursuant to Rule 19(b) or to transfer it to the District of Columbia pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a).
Rule 19(a) states:
A person who is subject to service of process and whose joinder will not deprive the court of jurisdiction over the subject matter of the action shall be joined as a party in the action if (1) in his absence complete relief cannot be accorded among those already parties, or (2) he claims an interest relating to the subject of the action and is so situated that the disposition of the action in his absence may (i) as a practical matter impair or impede his ability to protect that interest or (ii) leave any of the persons already parties subject to a substantial risk of incurring double, multiple, or otherwise inconsistent obligations by reason of his claimed interest. . . .
Rule 19(b) states that when a person described in Rule 19(a)(1) or (2) cannot be made a party to an action
the court shall determine whether in equity and good conscience the action should proceed among the parties before it, or should be dismissed, the absent person being thus regarded as indispensable. The factors to be considered by the court include: first, to what extent a judgment rendered in the person's absence might be prejudicial to him or those already parties; second, the extent to which, by protective provisions in the judgment, by the shaping of relief, or other measures, the prejudice can be lessened or avoided; third, whether a judgment rendered in the person's absence will be adequate; fourth, whether the plaintiff will have an adequate remedy if the action is dismissed for nonjoinder.
Amici's arguments in support of their contention that the judgment obtained by the plaintiffs must be vacated have focused, in part, on the impact of Rule 19 on "reverse-FOIA" suits generally. They ask this Court to hold that Rule 19 requires that parties to such suits must join known persons who have requested the material at issue unless those requesters formally notify the district court of their willingness to permit the agency to represent their interests. Amici support a similar rule for FOIA suits in which the plaintiffs know of persons who have submitted the information requested from the agency and who would oppose its release.
The District of Columbia Circuit has suggested, in its most recent examination of the procedural problems manifested in this litigation, that "reverse-FOIA plaintiffs may find that, to prevent judgments in their favor from becoming nugatory, they must join in their lawsuits anyone whose request for information quickened the submitter's controversy with the agency or perhaps even, by way of a defendant class action, all those who likely may subsequently make such requests." Consumers Union of United States, In