Entertainment Studios Files Second Amended Comcast Complaint
Entertainment Studios Networks and the National Association of African American Owned Media took a third run at Comcast, filing a second amended complaint (in Pacer) Thursday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles alleging racial discrimination by the cable company…
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in its decision not to carry ESN channels. The initial complaint, filed in 2015, was dismissed later that year, and an amended complaint dismissed in May by U.S. District Judge Terry Hatter of Los Angeles, who in his order (in Pacer) said ESN/NAAAOM hadn't sufficiently pled facts to make a plausible claim. Hatter said the case was dismissed with leave for one last amendment, and if the second amended complaint has pleading deficiencies, the case would be dismissed with prejudice. The second amended complaint by ESN/NAAAOM covers largely the same ground as its previous complaints -- that Comcast stands out among its major multichannel video programming distributor rivals by not carrying ESN content and that its claims of lack of bandwidth are shown to not hold water when it adds white-owned networks. As in the previous Comcast complaints, ESN/NAAAOM sought $20 billion in damages. In a joint stipulation (in Pacer) Wednesday, ESN/NAAAOM and Comcast said they agreed on a briefing schedule for Comcast's planned motion to dismiss the second amended complaint, with Comcast having until July 11 to move to dismiss, the plaintiffs having an Aug. 8 deadline to respond, Comcast having an Aug. 22 deadline to reply in support of its motion and a hearing on the motion scheduled for Sept. 12. ESN/NAAAOM are pursuing similar litigation against Charter Communications and the FCC (see 1601280063) and petitioned the agency for an investigation of Comcast (see 1603280030). In a statement, Comcast said, “We believe NAAAOM’s and ESN’s third attempt to manufacture a lawsuit against Comcast has no more merit and will fare no better than their previous complaints in this case, and we will vigorously defend ourselves against their inaccurate and unsupported allegations. Comcast is proud of our outstanding record supporting and fostering diverse programming, including programming from African American owned and controlled cable channels. We currently carry more than 100 networks geared toward diverse audiences, including multiple networks owned or controlled by minorities.”