Newly Installed Intervenors Urge Dismissal of AT&T’s Tower Suit vs. Walla Walla

Bed-and-breakfast owners Barbara and Everett Knudson, newly granted intervenor-defendant status in support of Walla Walla, Washington, in its cell tower fight against AT&T (see 2403080031), want the U.S. District Court for Eastern Washington in Richland to declare that the carrier isn’t entitled to approval of its proposed wireless communication facility, said the Knudsons’ answer Monday (docket 4:23-cv-05162) to AT&T’s complaint. The company failed to satisfy Walla Walla municipal code requirements, as explained in the city’s hearing examiner's Nov. 2 decision denying AT&T’s cell tower application, said their answer. Those requirements are imposed on a “competitively neutral basis,” consistent with Section 254 of the Communications Act, it said. They’re necessary “to preserve and advance universal service, protect the public safety and welfare, ensure the continued quality of telecommunications services, and safeguard the rights of consumers,” it said. The court should dismiss AT&T’s complaint with prejudice, it said.