NCTA stepped up its legal attack on an Oct. 31 FCC order barring ...
NCTA stepped up its legal attack on an Oct. 31 FCC order barring exclusive deals between apartment buildings and some terrestrial sellers of TV, seeking a stay of the rulemaking. The part of the order outlawing existing deals shouldn’t…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
be allowed to take effect March 7, as the FCC plans, NCTA said in a Tuesday filing with U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia Circuit. NCTA had unsuccessfully sought an FCC delay of the order’s implementation (CD Dec 12 p10), but the agency never acted on the request, said the group’s emergency motion for stay pending judicial review. “The order not only bars such exclusive contracts prospectively -- thus diametrically changing the position the commission took just four years earlier -- but also abrogates exclusive access provisions in all existing contracts.” Such abrogation means cable operators may not be able to recoup existing investments, said NCTA: “There are strong arguments that the FCC has no statutory authority to address this entire subject and that, in any event, it was arbitrary and capricious for the commission to refuse to grandfather existing contracts.” Jan. 16, NCTA asked the D.C. Circuit to vacate the order. That request wasn’t publicized until today. Also Jan. 16, the National Multi Housing Council and National Apartment Association asked the court to toss out the exclusivity ban. The ban violates the Fifth Amendment, said the apartment groups’ filing. The order is “an abuse of discretion, unsupported by substantial evidence,” it said.