St. Regis Paper Co. v. United States

1962-01-15

Headline: Ruling lets the Federal Trade Commission compel a company to produce Census-file copies and enforces $100-per-day fines for refusal, narrowing claims of statutory confidentiality and sustaining investigatory orders.

Holding: The Court ruled that copies of reports a company filed with the Census Bureau are not immune from compulsory FTC production and that statutory $100-per-day forfeitures apply for the company’s continued refusal to comply with valid orders.

Real World Impact:

Requires companies to produce their own copies of Census reports.
Exposes companies to $100 daily forfeitures for noncompliance.
Narrows confidentiality claims based on Census assurances.

Topics: agency investigations, business confidentiality, federal data requests, civil fines

Summary

Background

A large paper company refused to turn over various documents and answers to the Federal Trade Commission during a multi-year inquiry into its corporate acquisitions. The Commission issued nine "special report" orders in 1959; two orders directed at the company led to notices of default and a civil suit by the United States seeking a court order to force compliance and $100-per-day forfeitures for continued noncompliance.

Reasoning

The main questions were whether the company’s retained copies of reports filed with the Census Bureau were protected from FTC process and whether the $100 daily forfeiture applied. The Court held that the Census Act’s secrecy rules govern Census employees, not copies kept by reporting companies, so those retained copies are not immune from compulsory production. It also explained that orders calling for answers to specific questions could be treated as "special reports," so the forfeiture statute applied. The Court rejected the company’s arguments that partial invalidity of some requests or lack of an earlier judicial test barred the fines, noting the company could have sought timely review or a stay. The Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeals and limited the forfeiture period to the time before the Court’s stay of further accumulations.

Real world impact

Government investigators can generally require companies to produce copies of reports the companies keep, even if similar originals were submitted to the Census Bureau. Companies that refuse valid Commission orders risk civil forfeitures. The decision resolves a circuit split and strengthens the FTC’s investigatory enforcement tools.

Dissents or concurrances

Three Justices dissented, arguing the Census Bureau’s confidentiality promises should protect reporting companies and that heavy statutory penalties should not have been imposed in the face of a good-faith controversy.