U.S. Supreme Court empowers bids to curb authority of federal agencies

By Andrew Chung

(Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday made it easier to challenge the regulatory power of federal agencies in two important rulings backing Axon Enterprise Inc‘s bid to sue the Federal Trade Commission and a Texas accountant’s gripe with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A 9-0 ruling by the justices revived Axon‘s lawsuit contesting the constitutionality of the FTC’s structure in a bid to counter an antitrust action related to the Scottsdale, Arizona-based company‘s acquisition of a rival, overturning a lower court’s decision to dismiss the case.

The justices also unanimously upheld a lower courts decision allowing the accountant, Michelle Cochran, to sue the SEC, challenging the legality of its in-house judges, after the agency faulted her audits of publicly traded companies.

(Reporting by Andrew Chung in New York; Editing by Will Dunham)