Ftc v. Minneapolis-Honeywell Regulator Co., 344 U.S. 206 (1952)

Federal Trade Commission v. Minneapolis-Honeywell Regulator Co.

No. 11

Argued October 15-16, 1952
Decided December 22, 1952
344 U.S. 206

CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE SEVENTH CIRCUIT

Syllabus

The Court of Appeals entered a judgment reversing the first of three parts of a cease and desist order issued by the Federal Trade Commission against respondent. After expiration of the period allowed for a petition for rehearing, the Commission filed a memorandum calling attention to the Court’s failure to decree enforcement of Parts I and II, but it requested no alteration of the judgment relative to Part III. Subsequently, the Court of Appeals issued a "Final Decree" reversing Part III of the order and decreeing enforcement of Parts I and II. More than 90 days after entry of the first judgment, the Commission petitioned this Court for certiorari to review the judgment reversing Part III of its order.

Held: The 90-day period allowed by 28 U.S.C. § 2101(c) for filing a petition for certiorari began to run on the date of the first judgment, and the petition was not timely. Pp. 207-213.

(a) Only when the lower court changes matters of substance, or resolves a genuine ambiguity, in a judgment previously rendered should the period within which an appeal must be taken or a petition for certiorari filed begin to run anew. Pp. 211-212.

(b) A different result is not required by the fact that the Court of Appeals labeled its second order a "Final Decree," whereas the word "Final" was missing from its first judgment. Pp. 212-213.

(c) Statutes which limit the appellate jurisdiction of this Court to cases in which review is sought within a prescribed period are not to be applied so as to permit a tolling of the time limitations because some event occurred in the lower court after judgment was rendered which is of no import on the matters to be dealt with on review. P. 213.

Writ of certiorari to review 191 F.2d 786 dismissed.

The Court of Appeals entered a judgment reversing one of three parts of a cease and desist order of the Federal Trade Commission. 191 F.2d 786. Later it, entered another judgment reversing that part and decreeing enforcement of the other two parts of the order. On petition of the Federal Trade Commission, this Court granted certiorari to review the judgment reversing part of its order, and requested counsel to discuss the "timeliness of the application for the writ." 342 U.S. 940. Writ dismissed, p. 213.