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Administrative Law Keyed to Schwartz
Thomas v. Union Carbide Agricultural Products Co.
Citation:
473 U.S. 568 (1985)Facts
The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act requires manufacturers to submit research data to the Environmental Protection Agency concerning a pesticide’s health, safety, and environmental effects as a precondition for registration. The 1972 amendments established data-sharing provisions to streamline registration procedures and avoid duplicative testing, but disputes over trade secrets and compensation led to litigation that virtually halted new pesticide registrations. In response, the 1978 amendments clarified that health and safety data were not exempt from disclosure as trade secrets and established a system of mandatory negotiation and binding arbitration to resolve compensation disputes between original data submitters and follow-on registrants. The arbitrator’s decision would be subject to judicial review only for “fraud, misrepresentation, or other misconduct.” Thirteen large chemical firms, including Stauffer Chemical Company, challenged this scheme as violating Article III by assigning judicial functions to arbitrators with only limited judicial review. Stauffer had undergone arbitration with PPG Industries and claimed the award of approximately $1.5 million fell far short of the $50 million in compensation it deserved.
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