In the only case pending in Florida to address the potential FTC Non-Compete Rule (the “Final Rule”) scheduled to go into effect on September 4, 2024, two days ago Judge Timothy Corrigan in the Middle District of Florida issued an oral ruling at a hearing we attended finding that the FTC exceeded its authority in issuing the Final Rule. The injunctive relief was granted via written order. Judge Corrigan indicated the order will apply only to the named plaintiff in the subject case, and nothing about the ruling will have any general application or nationwide effect. Notably, Judge Corrigan provided a detailed analysis finding that the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent jurisprudence on the Major Questions Doctrine was central to his ruling, and he found that there was not the required delegation of authority from Congress to the FTC in the statutory language that vested the FTC with the authority to issue a rule with such broad-sweeping and generally applicability. Importantly, Judge Corrigan found that the plaintiff’s two month delay in seeking injunctive relief – a benchmark that the FTC cited from Eleventh Circuit precedence – was not fatal to the plaintiff’s request because the Final Rule has not gone into effect.
