Matt Daneman

Vermont National Telephone (VTEL) is challenging the DOJ's move to dismiss fraud litigation against Dish Network and designated entities (DE) Northstar Wireless and SNR Wireless regarding 2015's AWS-3 auction (see 2403040052).

The net neutrality draft order on the FCC's April 25 open meeting agenda (see 2404030043) will face much the same legal arguments as the 2015 net neutrality order did, with many of the same parties involved, we're told by legal experts and net neutrality watchers.

The U.S. government will seek dismissal of Vermont National Telephone (VTEL) litigation against Dish Network designated entities (DE) Northstar Wireless and SNR Wireless over allegations of fraud in the 2015 AWS-3 auction. The U.S. is the relator in the VTEL litigation. DOJ filed a notice of intent to intervene and dismiss Friday with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (docket 1:15-cv-00728). It hasn't said in court filings the reasoning behind its move to get the case dismissed, and didn't comment Monday. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in 2022 reversed the lower court's dismissal of VTEL's False Claims Act suit against the Dish DEs and remanded it to the D.C. District Court (see 2205170026).

A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit repeatedly pressed International Dark-Sky Association (ISDA) about its standing during oral argument Monday in the group's legal challenge to the FCC's approval of SpaceX's second-generation satellite constellation (see 2301030014).

Multiple U.S. Supreme Court justices seemed skeptical Wednesday of regulatory agency power when it comes to handling adjudications differently from court proceedings -- specifically the right to trial by jury (docket 22-859). The SEC, in SEC v. Jarkesy, is seeking to overturn a 2022 decision by the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejecting the agency's administrative judgment in a securities fraud case. The appellate court decision was seen having implications for administrative law judge (ALJ) power at regulatory agencies broadly, including the FCC (see 2205260050).

DOD's fretting about GPS interference from Ligado was a ruse to hide that the agency had undisclosed systems using or depending on Ligado spectrum, while not compensating the company for that use, Ligado said Thursday in a complaint filed with U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Named as defendants were the U.S., DOD, Commerce Department and NTIA. Commerce and Defense didn't comment Friday. Calling it "the largest uncompensated taking of private property by our nation’s government in modern times," Ligado said in the 69-page complaint its spectrum rights had an assessed value of $39 billion -- "all of which value has been destroyed by the United States’ unconstitutional taking of Ligado’s property." The litigation doesn't specify what the supposed systems are and indicates they could involve transmitters, receivers or both. Ligado said DOD has indicated it needs exclusive, permanent use of the company's spectrum authorized for wireless terrestrial 5G services. That Defense use "has prevented, and will continue to prevent, Ligado from using its duly and exclusively licensed spectrum for terrestrial services," Ligado said. It alleged uncompensated physical, categorical, regulatory and legislative takings. "If left unchecked, such uncompensated and unfettered appropriation of a company’s FCC license by other government agencies will detrimentally undermine the authority of the FCC to exclusively regulate commercial spectrum, cast doubt on the finality of FCC decision-making and regulatory processes, and create a dangerous precedent of governmental seizure of private property," it said. In its suit, Ligado cites an unnamed DOD whistleblower who allegedly shared internal emails and conversations, plus the company's own talks with current and former government officials. The whistleblower and those talks "lay bare how [Defense and Commerce] fabricated arguments, misled Congress in testimony supporting anti-Ligado legislation, and orchestrated a public smear campaign, which included repeating those false claims to the public and threatening Ligado’s business partners with canceling their own government contracts if they worked with Ligado," the company said.

Contrary to what the U.S. Bankruptcy Court decided, SES and Intelsat's C-Band Alliance agreement "is certainly not a model of clarity," U.S. District Judge Robert Payne for the Eastern District of Virginia ruled Friday as he reversed the Bankruptcy Court's denial of SES' $421 million claim against Intelsat for the collapse of the CBA. In his 57-page decision Friday (docket 3:22-cv-00668),Payne remanded the case to Bankruptcy Court. SES sought damages from the CBA's collapse as part of Intelsat's now-concluded Chapter 11 bankruptcy (see 2007140029). At oral argument in March, Payne was critical of the CBA agreement (see 2303200062).

NAB's attempt to get the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to force the FCC to move on its 2018 quadrennial review isn't likely to result in new media ownership rules coming out of the agency soon in large part due to the 2-2 commissioner deadlock, broadcast experts told us. NAB's suit Monday seeks a writ of mandamus compelling the commission to complete the 2018 review within 90 days of a court decision. The NAB legal action was expected (see 2303290065). The FCC didn't comment.

U.S. District Judge Robert Payne seemed open multiple times in oral argument Monday to deciding U.S. Bankruptcy Court erred in dismissing SES claims against Intelsat over the collapse of the C-Band Alliance (CBA) (see 2210030050). Oral argument before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Richmond (docket 3:22-cv-668) lasted nearly four hours. Payne said he might require additional briefing.

DirecTV litigation accusing Nexstar and its broadcast sidecars Mission and White Knight of colluding to set retransmission consent fee prices is likely more a retrans consent negotiation tactic than a direct attack on sidecar operations, broadcast lawyers told us.