Federal Trade Commission v. Trudeau (Trudeau II)
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
662 F.3d 947 (2011)
- Written by Josh Lee, JD
Facts
After a lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (plaintiff), Kevin Trudeau (defendant) was held in civil contempt and fined $37.6 million by a federal district court for broadcasting deceptive infomercials in violation of a consent decree. Trudeau appealed. The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit remanded the case to the district court for further findings in support of the penalty and further instructions on how the penalty should be administered. On remand, the district court reinstated the $37.6 million fine. The district court explained that the fine was assessed based on the loss to consumers as measured by the telephone orders of the book advertised in the infomercial, without accounting for sales in bookstores. Trudeau appealed, arguing that the district court unjustly based the fine on consumer loss rather than on his unjust gain.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Tinder, J.)
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