AT&T, GLC Ask Bankruptcy Court To Relax Stay Blocking DC Circuit Review of FCC Case
AT&T and Great Lakes Comnet asked a bankruptcy court to ease an automatic stay to permit a federal appellate court to continue its review of GLC's legal challenge of an FCC order siding with AT&T on an intercarrier compensation dispute,…
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AT&T said in an appellate court filing Monday. "AT&T expects that the bankruptcy court will act on the stipulation as early as this week, and will enter an order consistent with the stipulation that lifts the stay (to the extent it applies) to allow this proceeding to move forward," AT&T told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which has been considering Great Lakes Comnet and Westphalia Telephone Co. v. FCC, No. 15-1064. If the stay is lifted for the D.C. Circuit case, AT&T suggested the appeals court keep its oral argument scheduled for April 1. GLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and said the automatic stay blocked D.C. Circuit review of its challenge to the FCC order (see 1602040034). AT&T asked the bankruptcy court to lift the stay (see 1602250022). Answering a D.C. Circuit request that they weigh in on the matter, the DOJ and FCC told the court in a response Monday that they don't intend to take a position on the AT&T request for the bankruptcy court to lift the stay. If the bankruptcy court lifts the stay in a timely manner, the DOJ and FCC said they don't object to the D.C. Circuit holding oral argument April 1. If the stay isn't lifted, they said they believe the D.C. Circuit's review of the GLC challenge to the FCC order is blocked, and that it wouldn't be appropriate to move ahead with review of GLC subsidiary Westphalia Telephone's case against the FCC order.