National Nutritional Foods Association v. Food and Drug Administration
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
491 F.2d 1141 (1974)
The FDA (defendant) compiled a massive rulemaking record on food labeling regulations, and shortly after a new commissioner, Alexander Schmidt, was sworn in, he signed the final regulations, along with numerous other regulatory actions, within his first two weeks in office. The National Nutritional Foods Association and others (plaintiffs) challenged the regulations, arguing Schmidt could not plausibly have reviewed the entire 32,000-page record in that time, and sought to take his testimony to probe how the decision was actually made.
Whether, when formal findings accompany an administrative agency's decision, a strong showing of bad faith or improper behavior is required before testimony may be taken regarding the reasons for the decision or internal agency deliberations.