Federal Trade Commission Drops Antitrust Case Against Axon

By Dean Seal

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has dismissed its administrative action against Axon Enterprise following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that permitted the company to challenge the FTC's constitutionality in federal court.

The agency filed an order on Friday saying that in light of the Supreme Court's April ruling, Axon's lawsuit challenging the FTC's constitutionality is now back in federal court and would likely result in years of additional litigation that would delay the adjudication of the FTC's enforcement action.

"We have come to the difficult conclusion that the public interest requires that this litigation no longer be continued," the FTC said in the order.

Pam Petersen, Axon's vice president of litigation and counsel of record in both the administrative and federal cases, said Monday that the FTC's dismissal is intended to moot the police body-camera maker's constitutionality claims and will resolve both cases.

The antitrust regulator launched an enforcement action against Axon following its 2018 acquisition of competitor Vievu, prompting Axon to file a lawsuit in 2020 that challenged the constitutionality of the FTC's structure.

An Arizona federal court dismissed Axon's case, finding that it didn't have jurisdiction under federal law to consider the claims since the FTC's proceedings were already underway.

An appellate panel affirmed the ruling in a 2-1 vote, but Axon lifted the case to the Supreme Court. In April, the high court overturned the appellate decision and ruled that Axon's claims could be heard by the federal district court.

"As I said from the beginning, no one should ever face the prospect of a government that can demand to seize your most precious assets without the ability to defend yourself in a fair and impartial court of law," Axon Chief Executive Rick Smith said.

Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 09, 2023 08:34 ET (12:34 GMT)

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