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Administrative Law Keyed to Aman
Federal Trade Commission v. Standard Oil Co. of California
Citation:
449 U.S. 232 (1980)Facts
In July 1973, the Federal Trade Commission issued a complaint against eight major oil companies, including Standard Oil Company of California (Socal), alleging violations of Section 5 of the FTC Act. The complaint was issued amid the 1973 gasoline shortages and followed a request from Senator Henry Jackson for the FTC to investigate the petroleum industry. Socal alleged that the FTC issued the complaint without sufficient investigation and merely due to political pressure. Socal claimed the FTC had conducted minimal investigation of Socal’s operations before issuing the complaint, interviewing only three Socal officers and examining no documents or books. Socal filed suit in federal district court seeking to have the complaint withdrawn, arguing that the FTC lacked the statutorily required “reason to believe” that Socal was violating the Act when it issued the complaint.
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