AGs support FTC disgorgement authority

Federal Issues State Issues Disgorgement FTC U.S. Supreme Court State Attorney General Enforcement

On June 28, a coalition of 28 state attorneys general sent a letter to Congress in support of H.R. 2668, the Consumer Protection and Recovery Act. The bill would give the FTC authority to seek restitution and disgorgement, among other equitable remedies, for consumer protection and antitrust violations in federal court without first going through a lengthy administrative process. As previously covered by InfoBytes, in April, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously reversed the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit’s decision in AMG Capital Management v. FTC, holding that Section 13(b) of the FTC Act “does not authorize the Commission to seek, or a court to award, equitable monetary relief such as restitution or disgorgement.” The ruling reversed a $1.3 billion restitution award in a case alleging that payday loan companies had deceived and overcharged customers. The coalition urged lawmakers to reinstate the “essential tools that the FTC needs to combat fraud and anticompetitive conduct and protect an honest marketplace.”