A Michigan court ruled Monday that “Comcast must be considered...

and the local Michigan Uniform Video Services Local Franchise Act, enacted in 2007, and whether Comcast had truly established a franchise agreement with Detroit, which the court has now ruled it hadn’t. “The Michigan Act does not prevent municipalities from refusing to approve franchise renewal proposals from cable operators as long as the municipality acts on the proposal within the 30-day limit set forth in the Act,” the Eastern District Court of Michigan said, affirming Detroit’s authority to refuse Comcast’s renewal proposal and that “no new franchise agreement was established,” as the court’s ruling said. Comcast’s formal franchise agreement with Detroit expired in February 2007, and the city had said Comcast was acting as “a holdover tenant” and “the end result is that Comcast must comply with the old franchise agreement until a new one is approved by the city,” as described by the court. But Comcast will be treated as a “trespasser” rather than a “holdover tenant” because Michigan law “will not permit” the latter, the court said. “Although the Michigan Act’s renewal provisions are not preempted by the Cable Act, the provisions that purport to modify existing franchise agreements by operation of law to curtail a municipality’s authority to enforce PEG [public, education and government] channel requirements in existing agreements are expressly preempted by the Cable Act,” the court said. The court declined to rule on whether “customer service, anti-discrimination, universal build-out and safe harbor provisions of the Michigan Act are preempted by federal law because of lack of standing and ripeness,” the court said. The court said all parties “must file briefs addressing an appropriate remedy for the trespass and failure to renew the franchise agreement for provision of cable services on or before July 31, 2012.” “We are still reviewing the court decision to determine the next steps in resolving the dispute,” a Comcast spokesman said. “In the meantime, we plan to provide uninterrupted service to our customers in the city of Detroit while this case continues and we remain hopeful of coming to a mutually beneficial resolution with the city. Comcast at all times complied with the requirements of the Michigan Uniform Video Services Local Franchise Act. The state attorney general’s office supported the act and our right to operate under it. In good faith, we complied with state law."