Raymond Randall is an attorney with the Federal Trade Commission. A 19-year veteran with the agency, Mr. Randall was known as a good trial attorney. The FTC charged William Farley, the chairman of Fruit of the Loom, Inc, with violations of the reporting provisions of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, when he purchased shares of West Point-Pepperell Corporations prior to a Fruit of the Loom takeover bid

Question

The Hart-Scott-Rodino Act requires investors to notify the government when their holdings in a firm pass $15 million. The FTC sought a fine of $10,000 per day against Mr. Farley, for a total of $910,000 . Mr. Farley did notify the FTC once Fruit of the Loom made its decision to acquire West Point-Pepperell. Randall was assigned the Farley case. The FTC took a position of refusing to disclose to Farley and his attorneys documents relating to the case. Mr. Randall felt that the documents pointed to weaknesses in the FTC case and supported Mr. Farley's point that he notified the FTC once the takeover position was announced. Mr. Randall leaked the documents to Mr. Farley's lawyer. Mr. Farley's lawyers were concerned that they should not be in possession of government documents returned the documents and resigned from the case because they had seen the documents. Mr. Farley's new attorneys went to court demanding production of the documents. The documents were ordered produced by the court. When the FTC refused to produce them, the case against Mr. Farley was dismissed by a federal district judge.
a. Did Mr. Randall do the right thing in disclosing the documents to Farley's attorneys?
b. Did Mr. Farley's lawyers do the right thing in returning the documents to the FTC?

Answer 1

a. Mr. Randall was engaged in a form of civil disobedience. He knew that the documents were government property and enjoyed the protection of the courts, but he also felt that Mr. Farley was being prosecuted without sufficient evidence. Mr. Randall's principles, values and ethics took control of the situation and he sent the documents as a means of allowing Mr. Farley access to the information. It is important to note that Mr. Randall's action should have been his last choice. Did he go to those within the agency and attempt to resolve the problem? He should also consider his loyalty to his employer and his responsibilities as an attorney before taking the action that he did which was a form of civil disobedience.

b. Mr. Farley's attorneys acted with the utmost integrity in returning the documents and resigning from the case. They made some difficult choices and not only followed the law but then resigned from the case because they had seen things they were not permitted to see. Their forthright actions probably helped Mr. Farley with the court and provided great credibility for Mr. Farley and his new attorneys as they successfully pursued the dismissal.