AT&T-Muttontown Judge Orders Jan. 19 Report on Motions to Intervene

Decisions loom for the magistrate judge presiding over AT&T’s lawsuit to force Muttontown, New York, to approve construction of a 150-foot-tall cell tower to remedy a service gap. U.S. Magistrate Judge Lee Dunst for the Eastern District of New York in Central Islip, in a text-only entry Tuesday (docket 2:22-cv-5524), ordered the parties to meet and confer on a joint report due Jan. 19. It said the parties should discuss whether Dunst should wait for a decision on the village’s request for a pre-motion conference on its anticipated motion to dismiss AT&T’s complaint before ruling on two motions from about 30 village residents to intervene in the case to block the tower. AT&T and the village oppose the motions to intervene (see 2301030042), but the residents argue their interests in protecting their property values and the aesthetics of their homes aren't represented by the parties in the case (see 2211030048).