Home Box Office, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
567 F.2d 9 (1977)
After proposing new cable television programming restrictions and receiving public comments, the FCC (defendant) held undisclosed meetings with numerous interested parties to negotiate a mutually acceptable outcome, including communications occurring after the rulemaking record should have closed, before adopting a final rule. Home Box Office and other parties (plaintiffs) challenged the rule, arguing the FCC's ex parte communications during this period were impermissible and undisclosed, preventing meaningful judicial review of how the agency actually reached its decision.
Whether an agency must disclose to the public, in some form, the substance of ex parte communications with interested parties that occur after a notice of proposed rulemaking and that form the basis for the agency's final action.