1、CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i UPDATE: Will the FTC Need to Rethink its Enforcement Playbook? Third Circuit Considers FTCs Ability to Sue Based on Past Conduct Updated March 6, 2019 UPDATE: On February 25, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appea
2、ls for the Third Circuit (Third Circuit) affirmed the district courts judgment in the case FTC v. Shire ViroPharma, Inc. The Third Circuit explained that, as a threshold to suing in federal court under Section 13(b) of the Federal Trade Commission Act, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) must show th
3、at the defendant “is violating, or is about to violate” law. The court further construed the “is violating, or is about to violate” language as covering “existing or impending conduct.” While it left defining the “exact confines” of the language “for another day,” it rejected the FTCs interpretation
4、 that the standard could be met by merely showing a “past violation and a likelihood of recurrence.” The court further rejected the FTCs “parade of horribles” argument, in which the FTC claimed that the courts interpretation would allow wrongdoers to evade enforcement by ceasing their illegal conduc
