AT&T Asks Bankruptcy Court To Scrap Stay Blocking Great Lakes Comnet Cases
AT&T urged a U.S. bankruptcy court to lift an automatic stay covering Great Lakes Comnet that blocks federal and state appellate court consideration of regulatory litigation affecting both companies (see 1602040034). AT&T filed a motion Feb. 19 asking the U.S.…
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Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Michigan to declare an automatic stay provision inapplicable or to grant other relief so that the appellate litigation can be concluded, AT&T told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Wednesday in a filing in the case (Great Lakes Comnet v. FCC, No. 15-1064), which included its motion. The D.C. Circuit is reviewing a GLC challenge to an FCC order that sided with AT&T in an intercarrier compensation dispute between the companies. In that order, the FCC found that GLC is a CLEC and that its tariffed rates violated a CLEC benchmark rule. AT&T separately is appealing a contrary Michigan Public Service Commission decision that found GLC isn't a CLEC subject to the FCC switched access rate limits. “The requested relief should be granted, and the parties should be permitted to litigate the pending appeals and regulatory proceedings to a final conclusion regarding a determination of what liability and what tariff rates apply under the FCC rules to the access services provided by the Debtor [GLC],” AT&T said in its bankruptcy court motion. “As the Fifth Circuit recognized in virtually identical circumstances, the adjudication of this type of dispute clearly falls within the purview of federal and state regulatory powers and will result only in a determination of liability under the federal regulatory scheme relating to access services,” the telco said, referring to a 2012 Halo Wireless decision. GLC had no comment Thursday.