Telecom, Cable Appellants of Net Neutrality Order To Ask D.C. Circuit for Stay
Telecom opponents of the FCC net neutrality order asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to let them weigh in together, at greater length, in the main challenge to the rules, as they seek a partial stay of the order. CTIA, USTelecom, the Wireless ISP Association, AT&T and CenturyLink asked Thursday that they be allowed to file a single 35-page motion, plus an additional 15 pages at the court’s discretion, rather than separate 20-page motions. Earlier, the five asked the FCC for a partial stay of the order, though industry observers say that request will likely be denied (see 1505010059).
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“To prevent the significant and irreparable harms that the public and the industry will suffer if the FCC’s unlawful Order were allowed to take effect, Petitioners seek to stay the reclassification portion of the Order, as well as the Internet conduct standard adopted in the Order, pending this Court’s review,” the telecom parties said. “The additional pages are necessary in part due to the significance, complexity, and sweeping effect of the 588-paragraph Order under review.” Petitioners need space to explain “for the benefit of the Court in resolving the stay motion, what the FCC did; why Petitioners are likely to prevail (including a discussion of the relevant precedent from which the FCC has departed); and how the Order will harm Petitioners and the public.”
The FCC and U.S. government, defending the order, have consented to the request “so long as they are allowed to file a brief of equal length,” the telecom parties said. “To give Respondent FCC adequate time to respond to Petitioners’ pending stay request before that agency, Petitioners will not file a stay request in this Court before May 12.” They said that if filing separately they could offer motions totaling 100 pages.
The American Cable Association and NCTA filed a similar request, asking to make a combined 35-page cable filing. “This proceeding concerns the efforts of a sharply divided FCC to exert unprecedented and sweeping regulatory power over the Internet,” the cable associations said. “This seismic regulatory shift will have massive repercussions and will cause significant and immediate harm to broadband providers, consumers, and the entire Internet ecosystem.” Absent a stay, “petitioners’ members will suffer severe and irreparable harms when the Order becomes effective on June 12,” they said: The order presents “one of the most significant cases that this Court is likely to encounter concerning technology, the future of the economy, and fundamental boundaries of statutory and administrative law.”