Yesterday, over a dissent, the Fifth Circuit vacated the FTC’s CARS rule, which protected consumers from unfair and deceptive practices by car dealers.
While the challengers lobbed many wide-ranging arguments that called into question the FTC’s authority broadly, the Fifth Circuit based its ruling solely on the agency’s failure to issue an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM). As such, the procedural loss for the FTC is likely better for consumers in the long-term than many other possible outcomes.