Court Orders Verizon’s Carmel Appeal to be Held in Abeyance

The 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals directed Verizon’s appeal in the case involving the City of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, to be held in abeyance while the parties try to mediate their dispute, said an order Monday (docket 22-16153). The court ordered the docket closed for administrative purposes until June 1 and directed the parties to furnish the mediator with an updated status report by May 25. “This administrative closure is not a decision on the merits and no mandate will issue in connection with this order,” said the court. Verizon’s Jan. 18 complaint in U.S. District Court for Northern California in San Jose alleged the city violated the Telecommunications Act by failing to act within a reasonable period of time on Verizon’s application to place, modify or construct a personal wireless service facility within the city and that the municipality breached a settlement agreement that would have ended the dispute (see 2210270073). Verizon is appealing the district court’s June 30 dismissal of its complaint and the granting of summary judgment in favor of the city.