Opinion ID: 410287
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Ready Access.

Text: 40 In the case before us, the ALJ and the Commission agreed that ready access to the warranty binders, for large stores, means that one set of binders must be available on each selling floor. Wards argues that even if the distinction between large and small retailers is proper, it should have been included in the language of the rule. 41 We believe that such a distinction is a reasonable step by the Commission to define more specifically what ready access requires of Wards. 14 It seems clearly within the agency's discretion to make efforts to define ready access in terms of store size. The use of store size as a factor for consideration was presaged in the commentary published in the Federal Register upon the promulgation of the presale rule. 40 Fed.Reg. 60,168, 60,184 (1975). 15 As Wards was significantly involved in the rule-making process, it would be unreasonable to conclude that it was unaware of the considerations that went into the development of the rule in its ultimate form. 42 There are two troubling aspects, however, to this portion of the Commission's decision. The first is that the FTC urged both the ALJ and the Commission to require that Wards maintain a set of binders in each department. This requirement was specifically proposed and rejected in the rule-making process. See 40 Fed.Reg. at 60,1983-84. It is disconcerting that the FTC would seek to enforce a version of the pre-sale rule that was rejected in the promulgation of the final rule. 43 However, this case is different from Patel, where we reversed the agency's appeal board after it had enforced the previously rejected standard. See Patel v. INS, 638 F.2d at 1202. Here, the Commission rejected the inappropriate position presented by the FTC, and applied a bright-line standard for the implementation of the ready access requirement. 44 The second troubling aspect of the Commission's decision is that we are not given any indication as to how that bright-line standard evolved. In the ALJ's opinion, affirmed by the Commission, there appears only the statement: It is clear, however, that requiring consumers to go from one floor to another to examine [warranty] materials would constitute an excessive burden. 45 We are not informed why it is less trouble to cross a 50,000 square foot sales floor to get to a warranty binder, than it is to ride up or down an elevator or escalator. It would seem that location on the floor, relative to an elevator or escalator, would be significant. No mention of this was made, however, and we are urged by the FTC to defer to its administrative expertise in resolving the issue. See Pacific Coast Medical Enterprises v. Harris, 633 F.2d 123, 131 (9th Cir.1980). Such deference, however, is best used to resolve definitional problems. See Todd Shipyards Corp. v. Secretary of Labor, 566 F.2d 1327, 1331 (9th Cir.1977) (defer to administrative expertise on whether a rule relating to openings flush with the deck applies to a manhole with a six-inch-high coaming). Here we are instead dealing with a determination of how consumers will react upon discovering that a copy of a warranty may only be found on another floor. 46 While we do not disagree with the premise that the FTC has some expertise in consumer transactions, we would expect some indication of the source of the agency's knowledge. We have been shown no prior adjudications and no empirical analysis. The term ready access was apparently introduced into the rule after many retail sellers commented that a requirement of a binder in every department, as proposed by the FTC, would not be flexible enough to apply to all retail stores. 40 Fed.Reg. at 60,183-84. There does not appear to have been any discussion on what ready access means. Id. 47 In conclusion, however, although we are troubled by the untenable position taken by the FTC before both the ALJ and the Commission, and by the rather arbitrary decision that one set of binders is required on each sales floor in large stores, we believe that the Commission's decision was within the scope of its discretion. We hold that the Commission's decision that ready access requires Wards to place one set of binders on each sales floor was not an abuse of discretion. 48