FCC v. AT&T · ¶55

The Federal Communications Commission believed that AT&T and Verizon violated federal law. Rather than proceeding against them in federal court, the Commission performed its own adjudications. It determined that AT&T and Verizon were liable, and it ordered them to pay $57 million and $47 million, respectively. See ante, at 539. If they did not pay, the Commission could sue them in a forum where they would have been denied a constitutionally required jury trial de novo. AT&T and Verizon believed that the Commission lacked the authority to force them to pay penalties without a trial de novo in an Article III court. So, like most regulated parties challenging Commission orders, they paid under protest and brought suit to vindicate their position, set aside the orders, and get their money back.

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