State regulators won their first victory in federal appeals court...
State regulators won their first victory in federal appeals court on 11th Amendment immunity claim involving Telecom Act. Three-judge panel of 4th U.S. Appeals Court, Richmond, ruled 2-1 that Md. state regulators had 11th Amendment immunity from federal court…
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review of their interconnection contract interpretations and resulting enforcement actions. Court in Doc. 99-2626 ruled Wed. on case arising out of Verizon’s appeal of 1999 Md. PSC decision that terms of the local interconnection agreement in force between Verizon and WorldCom required Verizon to pay WorldCom reciprocal compensation on calls to local numbers of Internet service providers. Court majority said Md. regulators didn’t waive their sovereign immunity by deciding dispute over meaning of contract’s language, and ex parte Young exception to 11th Amendment immunity didn’t apply to this case because decision “was based on state contract law and arguably did not involve an ongoing violation of federal law.” Court said WorldCom’s petitions to Md. PSC seeking declaratory judgment interpreting contract language and injunction to enforce terms of an already-approved interconnection agreement “do not fall into the category of actions identified [in Telecom Act Sec. 252] for resolution in federal court… Such petitions are left by the 1996 Act for resolution by state commissions and for review by state courts.” Verizon can seek en banc rehearing by full appeals court. Case is significant for states, which up to now have lost all 11th Amendment cases they brought to federal appeals courts. U.S. Supreme Court twice has refused to address 11th Amendment Telecom Act immunity issue since appeals courts had been unanimous in ruling against states. State legal experts said that if request for en banc rehearing were denied, or if rehearing went against Verizon, conflict would exist among federal appeals courts, and U.S. Supreme Court would have to address issue on the merits.