Federal Trade Commission v. Cement Institute

The FTC (plaintiff) investigated the 74 corporate members of the Cement Institute (defendant) after finding their prices, even on sealed bids, matched consistently down to a fraction of a penny across a series of years. Cement argued its product was a standardized commodity with genuine price competition, so identical prices weren't inherently suspicious, and separately argued the FTC should disqualify itself because it had already opined, in reports it had been required by Congress to submit to the president and Congress, that the cement industry's pricing practices were illegal. The FTC declined to disqualify itself, found an elaborate price-fixing scheme, and issued a cease-and-desist order; the court of appeals reversed, and the FTC sought Supreme Court review.