St Regis Paper Company v. United States, 47
| Decision Date | 11 December 1961 |
| Docket Number | No. 47,47 |
| Citation | 368 U.S. 208,7 L.Ed.2d 240,82 S.Ct. 289 |
| Parties | ST. REGIS PAPER COMPANY, Petitioner, v. UNITED STATES |
| Court | U.S. Supreme Court |
See 368 U.S. 972, 82 S.Ct. 437.
[Syllabus from pages 208-210 intentionally omitted] Horace R. Lamb, Washington, D.C., for petitioner.
Archibald Cox, Sol. Gen., Washington, D.C., for respondent.
Pursuant to § 6(b) of the Federal Trade Commission Act,1 the Commission issued orders directing the petitioner and corporations acquired by it to submit various reports. Petitioner failed to furnish all of the requested information, and the United States at the request of the Commission brought the present suit in the District Court seeking (1) a mandatory injunction to compel compliance with all of the orders2 and (2) statutory forfeiture of $100 for every day petitioner was in default of those orders directed specifically to it.3
The District Court found that some of the requests were unenforceable because of vagueness and that others had been answered either specifically or by reference to materials previously furnished. Petitioner was directed to answer the remaining items, including those calling for file copies of census reports. However, because some of the requests were too vague to be enforced, the District Court did not award the statutory forfeitures. 181 F.Supp. 862. The Court of Appeals affirmed insofar as the District Court ordered compliance, but reversed that portion of the decision refusing to award the statutory forfeitures. 285 F.2d 607. We granted a limited writ of certiorari because of a conflict in the circuits on the question of compulsory production of the copies of census reports and the general importance of certain other questions in the administration of the investigatory pro- visions of the Federal Trade Commission Act. 365 U.S. 857, 81 S.Ct. 825, 5 L.Ed.2d 822. On motion of petitioner, we also granted a stay tolling the further running and accumulation of forfeitures awaiting our decision. We now affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeals.
Petitioner contends that it cannot lawfully be required to produce copies of statutory reports made by it to the Census Bureau because of their confidential nature. The remainder of the inquiries found enforceable by the District Court are not now contested by the petitioner. As to the forfeitures, petitioner advances several arguments: (1) The statutory forfeiture of § 10 is not applicable because it applies only to a failure to furnish 'reports' while the inquiries directed to petitioner called for answers to specific questions; (2) No forfeitures can be imposed because the orders were only partially enforceable; and (3) It is a denial of due process to assess penalties for failure to obey orders during a time petitioner was without remedy to test their validity.
The controversy culminating in this litigation had its inception in September 1956. At that time the Commission requested petitioner to furnish voluntarily information concerning certain of its corporate acquisitions to enable the Commission to determine whether there had been any violations of the antitrust laws. A year later, having failed to obtain the bulk of the requests, the Commission served a subpoena duces tecum on petitioner. It covered somewhat the same information as was previously requested but, in addition, required similar data concerning three more corporate acquisitions effected in the interim. In due time petitioner fully complied with the subpoena, and the hearing before the Examiner was concluded. After reviewing the material, however, the Commission found that it needed additional information and in June 1958 requested petitioner's counsel to furnish it. A running exchange of correspondence between petitioner's counsel and the Commission's staff followed. Counsel contended, inter alia, that no additional information was needed and requested a statement of necessity therefor. Upon counsel's insistence, three separate levels of authority in the Commission, from the local attorney in New York City to the Director of the Bureau of Investigation in Washington, explained the need for the information, advised that the request therefor had been fully authorized and requested petitioner to comply therewith. This discussion continued for over six months during which time petitioner furnished only two documents of the many requested. On January 6, 1959, the Commission instigated a formal investigation of the acquisitions made by petitioner during the preceding five years. Pursuant to this investigation the Commission issued six orders requiring the filing within 30 days of 'special reports' which were to contain specified information and documents. On motion of petitioner, the Commission temporarily suspended these orders while it considered petitioner's motion that they be vacated. On May 6, 1959, the motion to vacate was denied, and petitioner was directed to comply by May 28, 1959. On June 4, 1959, the Commission broadened its investigation to cover two corporate acquisitions by petitioner occurring after the instigation of the formal investigation. Accordingly three more orders requiring 'special reports' were issued. Upon petitioner's failure to comply with either set of orders, notices of default were served on June 20, 1959, and July 24, 1959, respectively. This complaint was filed on September 15, 1959, three years after the inquiry was opened. The complaint sought a mandatory injunction which would compel petitioner to file with the Commission the 'special reports' sought by all nine orders. However, forfeitures were claimed only for petitioner's failure to respond to orders numbered 1 and 7, which were directed specifically to petitioner. The other seven orders had been directed to corporations acquired by petitioner rather than to it.
Among the items ordered enforced and with which the petitioner still refuses to comply are requests for file copies of certain reports previously made to the Census Bureau. The petitioner claims each of these to be confidential. There is a conflict between the Courts of Appeal on the point.4 Here both the District Court and the Court of Appeals have held these file copies not restricted, and with this conclusion we agree.
Petitioner's claim is based on §§ 8 and 9(a) of the Census Act, 13 U.S.C. §§ 8—9(a), 13 U.S.C.A. §§ 8, 9(a), and assurances of confidentiality by the Government. It can be noted immediately that § 8 does not in any way support petitioner's position. This section grants the Secretary of Commerce the discretion to furnish to named authorities data taken from information furnished the Census Bureau on censuses of population, agriculture and housing. Subsection (c) thereof provides that when the Secretary furnishes such data it shall '(i)n no case' be used by the recipient 'to the detriment of the persons to whom such information relates.' Not only has the Commission not been furnished any information by the Secretary, but the information involved does not relate to the particular censuses covered by the section, and so this section is clearly inapplicable here.
The prohibitions of § 9(a) apply to the Secretary, and other officers and employees of the Department of Commerce. Each of them is prohibited from using the infor- mation supplied for other than statistical purposes; and, from making any publication thereof wherein the name or identity of those furnishing information is revealed; and finally, from permitting anyone outside of the employ of the Department of Commerce to 'examine the individual reports' filed. 5 The form of the report provided by the Census Bureau is marked 'Confidential' and in addition states that '(i)t cannot be used for purposes of taxation, investigation or regulation.'6 The Bureau also furnishes the reporting corporations a copy of this form, such as the one involved here. The copies are marked 'Keep this copy for your files,' and the Bureau is said to have advised reporting companies that they are confidential. It also appears that a Presidential Proclamation admonished reporting companies that 7 Petitioner also relies upon an opinion of the Attorney General, 36 Op.Atty.Gen. 362 (1930).
Similar contentions were considered by the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Federal Trade Comm. v. Dilger, 276 F.2d 739 (1960), where it was held that these 276 F.2d, at 744. It concludes that since the Commission cannot obtain the original it should not be permitted 'to do indirectly that which it cannot to directly.' Id., at 743.
The Solicitor General contends that for the purposes of this case petitioner has waived the point by voluntarily submitting like data to the Commission during its investigation herein. We cannot agree. Reaching the merits of the issue he points out that the government agencies are at loggerheads on the problem, the Department of Commerce, Census Bureau and the Bureau of the Budget believe that the copies are not subject to legal process, while the Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice, which filed this suit, contend to the contrary. The Solicitor General, 'fully recognizing the delicate balance of opposing...
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