The FCC seeks leave to allow two attorneys to argue on its behalf during Dec. 11 oral argument on the consolidated challenges brought by Dish Network and the International Dark-Sky Association against the FCC’s order authorizing SpaceX to deploy and operate a constellation of 7,500 second-generation Starlink communications satellites, said a commission motion Friday at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The consolidated cases “raise unrelated legal and factual issues arising out of an FCC licensing proceeding,” said the motion. Dividing argument as requested will aid in the D.C. Circuit’s “understanding of the complex issues presented,” it said. Dish challenges the FCC’s determination that SpaceX’s Gen2 Starlink system won't cause harmful interference to geostationary satellite operations such as Dish’s direct broadcast satellite system (docket 23-1001), it said. IDSA argues that the FCC erred in concluding that the National Environmental Policy Act didn’t require additional environmental review of the SpaceX satellites (docket 22-1337), it said. Under the D.C. Circuit’s Nov. 29 order assigning the FCC 16 minutes of argument time to be divided with intervenor SpaceX as the parties see fit (see 2311300004), the FCC has agreed to “cede” four minutes to SpaceX, said the motion. Should the D.C. Circuit grant the motion dividing the remaining 12 minutes between attorneys Rachel Proctor May and James Carr, May will address all issues raised by IDSA, and Carr will address those raised by Dish, it said. The FCC believes that permitting argument to be divided in that manner will “materially aid” in the D.C. Circuit’s “understanding of the distinct interference and environmental challenges to the FCC’s order in this case,” it said. Counsel for Dish and SpaceX consent to the motion, but IDSA’s position is unknown, it said.
The U.K.'s Solicitors Regulation Authority fined British law firm Ashfords LLP about $128,000 for violating the country's anti-money laundering and terrorist financing regulations. The U.K. said Ashfords, in helping a property investment company conduct a transaction, failed to discover or act on a potential link between the company and one of its sanctioned beneficial owners.
The prospect of seeking unanimous consent for kids’ privacy legislation spurred further negotiation on the bills, so the Senate Commerce Committee will hold off initiating a hotline process, Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told us last week.
MGM Resorts International's “impermissibly inadequate data security” caused the personally identifiable information (PII) of plaintiffs and class members to be “exfiltrated by unauthorized cybercriminals” in a Sept. 7 data breach, alleged a Nov. 27 class action (see 2:23-cv-01981) transferred Thursday from U.S. District Court for Southern California to U.S. District Court for Nevada in Las Vegas.
Most commenters supported adding the equipment and services needed to use Wi-Fi on school buses to the FY 2024 eligible services list for the FCC E-rate program as a category one service. Comments were posted Friday in docket 13-184. FCC Republican Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington dissented last month on an NPRM asking about the change (see 2311090028).
The Court of International Trade's recent decision that it has subject matter jurisdiction in a challenge to an addition to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List "directly addresses" a jurisdictional issue raised by the trade court in a separate action, importer Southern Cross said in a Dec. 1 notice of supplemental authority. CIT's ruling in Ninestar Corp. v. U.S. shows that the court has jurisdiction to hear the importer's case on the National Marine Fisheries Service's rejection of importer Southern Cross Seafoods' application for preapproval to import Chilean sea bass, the brief said (Southern Cross Seafoods v. United States, CIT # 22-00299).
Broadband experts debated the effectiveness of the FCC's digital discrimination order during a Broadband Breakfast webinar Wednesday. Panelists disagreed on whether the rules will lead to rate regulation or overreaching enforcement actions. Adopted by a 3-2 vote during a November agency meeting, the rules were mandated by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (see 2311150040).
CenturyLink reneged on its promises to lock in monthly internet prices for residential Price For Life program subscribers who remained in good standing, maintained service at the same residential address without interruption and didn’t change their CenturyLink service plans, alleged a fraud class action Friday (docket 3:23-cv-01739) in U.S. District Court for Oregon in Portland. CenturyLink promised the benefit in ads and promotions that began in 2017 and “also in the terms and conditions” that its residential internet customers contractually agreed to, it said. Price For Life subscribers gained price stability and peace of mind, prompting many of them to dismiss CenturyLink’s competitors’ offers, even “when those competitors offered better prices, faster speeds, more reliable connections, or other benefits,” it said. But CenturyLink in 2023 “quietly raised prices for Price For Life customers who had followed CenturyLink’s instructions and complied with the Price For Life terms,” it said. Many CenturyLink customers received no warning of any price hikes until they saw their monthly bills increase by $10 or more, it said. CenturyLink’s decision to break its Price For Life agreements “came on the heels of massive losses in the value of its business,” said the complaint. CenturyLink’s stock price plummeted in 2022, losing more than 55% of its value in just one year, it said. The company's stock in February lost more than 35% of its value, the complaint said. “Facing a financial crisis and desperate for increased cash flow, CenturyLink decided to extract more money from its customers in violation of its contracts,” it said. Oregon's Christopher Rosing, Jarrett Civelli and Jeffrey Haagenson bring their lawsuit on behalf of themselves and a nationwide class and an Oregon subclass composed of CenturyLink customers who subscribed to the Price For Life program and complied with the terms, yet “have still seen their bills increase,” said the class action. CenturyLink’s decision to breach its terms and conditions with customers "who loyally complied with them" is a breach of contract. Its advertising, marketing and treatment of the members of the Oregon subclass constitute violations of the Unlawful Trade Practices Act, and its receipt and retention of the funds above and beyond what it should have charged Price For Life subscribers is unjust enrichment, it said. Plaintiff Haagenson canceled his service after CenturyLink refused to honor its Price For Life commitment. He instead subscribed to Verizon residential internet service with a slower connection speed.
All of Judge Pauline Newman's claims against her colleagues on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's investigation of her fitness to continue serving on the bench are "straightforwardly dismissed," judges Kimberly Moore, Sharon Prost and Richard Taranto said in a reply brief supporting their motion to dismiss the case (Hon. Pauline Newman v. Hon Kimberly Moore, D.D.C. # 23-01334).
A YouTube video by ComplaintBox attacked Crash Proof Retirement by falsely stating that the plaintiff “exists to exploit seniors,” said a complaint Nov. 17 (docket 2:23-cv-04546) in U.S. District Court for Eastern Pennsylvania in Philadelphia brought by Crash Proof and parent company Retirement Media Inc. (RMI).