Comcast Seeks Delay in 911 Remittance Case

to dismiss a complaint by Cobb and Gwinnett counties alleging the cable company failed to bill, collect, report and remit the appropriate amount of 911 charges from customers. Last month, the counties told the district court about July 14 Gwinnett County Superior Court rulings rejecting AT&T and EarthLink motions to dismiss in two similar lawsuits by the counties (see 1607200021). The counties said the district court should make the same ruling on Comcast’s motion. But in a Wednesday response (in Pacer), Comcast said the federal court should wait to see if the Georgia Court of Appeals hears a joint appeal sought by AT&T and EarthLink. The Georgia court must decide whether to hear the case by Sept. 8. “The Joint Application raises three questions of Georgia law that are outcome determinative of Defendants’ motions: first, whether a right of action can be implied in the Georgia 911 Act, a statute which contains no express right of action in favor of counties like the plaintiffs here; second, whether a county can circumvent the unavailability of a private right of action by asserting common-law claims; and third, whether the 911 charge is a tax, not a fee,” Comcast said. “If the Georgia Court of Appeals declines to hear the appeal, the parties will be in the same position as they are now, with neither side benefited or prejudiced by the delay.”