US Supreme Court Bars the FTC from Seeking Restitution under Section 13(b) of the FTC Act: What Businesses Can Expect
- Leon Greenfield, Perry Lange, Álvaro Mateo Alonso
- 4.28.2021
On April 22, 2021, the US Supreme Court ruled that Section 13(b) of the Federal Trade Commission Act, which authorizes the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to pursue certain injunctive relief in court, does not authorize the FTC to pursue equitable monetary remedies such as restitution and disgorgement. The FTC had used Section 13(b) to extract over $11.2 billion from companies over the past five years in both consumer and antitrust cases. This alert briefly summarizes these developments and provides key implications for businesses.
