Petitioners Ask 9th Circuit to Transfer Net Neutrality Case to DC Circuit; No Opposition So Far
Parties asked the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to send FCC net neutrality litigation to the D.C. Circuit. Mozilla and others, which filed 13 petitions for review of a net neutrality repeal order in the D.C. Circuit, said the…
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FCC and the two petitioners that filed in the 9th Circuit -- Santa Clara County and the California Public Utilities Commission -- don't object. The FCC and Santa Clara confirmed Monday they wouldn't oppose. The CPUC didn't comment. A court lottery chose the 9th Circuit, sparking speculation there could be a request to transfer the case to the D.C. Circuit (see 1803090051). Transfer is warranted by "the convenience of the parties, the choice of forum made by the majority of the petitioners, and the fact that this Court's sister Court for the D.C. Circuit has considered virtually identical issues in inter-related proceedings," said parties' motion (in Pacer) Friday to the 9th Circuit in County of Santa Clara v. FCC, No. 18-70506 and consolidated cases. "This case is the fourth 'follow-on' phase in the review of the [FCC's] 'network neutrality' actions; all prior phases have been adjudicated by the D.C. Circuit. That Circuit has issued four decisions in these prior three proceedings ... Transfer is warranted in the interest of continuity." An attorney for one of the petitioners emailed: "It is entirely up to the discretion of the court and not easy to predict, but in the absence of opposition, the odds favor transfer." Joining Mozilla's motion were the Coalition for Internet Openness, Etsy, Benton Foundation, Free Press, Vimeo, Public Knowledge, National Hispanic Media Coalition, New America's Open Technology Institute, Center for Democracy & Technology, Ad Hoc Telecom Users Committee, NTCH, and the attorneys general for 22 states and the District of Columbia. “Given the clear infirmity of the FCC’s Order, we believe that any court in the country would conclude that the Order violates the law. Although the Ninth Circuit, as the home of Silicon Valley, would be an appropriate forum for this matter, we did not oppose the motion," said Danielle Goldstein, Santa Clara County counsel, in a statement. "It is not likely we will weigh in on this issue," emailed Brad Ramsay, general counsel of NARUC, which filed to intervene: "If we did, we would not take a position that differs from petitioner CPUC. But there are positives if the appeal is heard in either circuit." Pending intervenors American Cable Association, CTIA, NCTA and USTelecom didn't comment.