(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to decide whether the Federal Trade Commission can seek monetary awards when it sues people and companies for violating consumer protection laws.
The case bears similarities to one the court decided last month, when the justices limited the power of the Securities and Exchange Commission to recoup illegal profits from wrongdoers.
The FTC case turns on the reach of the federal law that lets the agency go to court to seek an injunction. Most lower courts have said that provision lets the FTC seek a court order requiring a wrongdoer to give the victims back the money they took.
The FTC says it has secured billions of dollars in refunds to defrauded consumers in recent years.
