Southwest Sunsites, Inc. v. Federal Trade Commission
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
785 F.2d 1413 (1986)
After an administrative law judge dismissed the FTC's (plaintiff) complaint against Southwest Sunsites (defendant) for alleged deceptive practices, the FTC reversed and issued a cease-and-desist order, applying a new deception standard imposing a heavier burden of proof on itself than the ALJ had used; Southwest Sunsites appealed, arguing the FTC's shift to this new standard violated the Administrative Procedure Act's (APA) notice requirements for administrative hearings.
Whether an agency violates the APA's notice requirements regarding administrative hearings when it reverses an ALJ's decision based on a theory that is narrower than, but completely subsumed in, the theory relied upon by the ALJ.