State attorneys general won judgments banning robocalls by Health Advisors of America, Scott Shapiro and Michael Smith, said North Carolina AG Josh Stein (D) Wednesday. Arkansas, Indiana, Michigan, North Dakota, Ohio and Texas AGs also participated in the cases. The U.S. District Court for Southern Texas permanently banned the defendants from making robocalls or working with companies that make robocalls. Defendants are also banned in the plaintiff states for 10 years from engaging in telemarketing, lead generation, providing or selling telephone numbers or calling numbers on state or U.S. do-not-call lists. Shapiro also is banned for two years from such activities nationwide. The court ordered more than $146 million in combined monetary penalties for Shapiro, Smith and Health Advisors, but those will mostly be suspended except for combined civil penalties of $500,000 if defendants abide by the judgment’s terms.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals scheduled oral argument Oct. 17 at 9 a.m. PDT in San Francisco in T-Mobile’s appeal of the district court’s March 31 preliminary injunction denial to block the California Public Utilities Commission’s USF contribution overhaul from taking effect as it did April 1 (see 2305160003), said a text-only entry Sunday (docket 23-15490). U.S. Magistrate Judge Lauren Beeler granted T-Mobile’s unopposed motion in May to stay her review of the overhaul until the 9th Circuit resolves the appeal (see 2305260025).

Redbox believes the merits of plaintiff Ruby Gamez’s individual Florida Telephone Solicitation Act claim “should be resolved in advance of any class discovery and class certification motions,” said a joint case management report Thursday (docket 8:23-cv-01497) in U.S. District Court for Middle Florida in Tampa. Gamez’s class action alleges Redbox phones and texts consumers to promote its goods and services “without having secured prior express written consent as required by the FTSA” (see 2307060003). But evidence that Redbox maintains “in the regular course of business” shows Gamez “consented to the allegedly unsolicited text messages at issue,” said the report. Redbox asserts Gamez, “either expressly, implicitly, or by third parties,” consented to receive phone communications from Redbox or third parties on its behalf, it said. To the extent that Gamez was called by a third party, “such third party did not have authority from Redbox to make any such calls” or text messages, it said. Redbox is considering moving to compel Gamez’s case to arbitration, under “the mandatory arbitration provision” in Redbox’s “then-effective” terms of use, said the report.

The Maryland Supreme Court’s decision on the state’s digital ad tax has no “direct impact” on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals case (docket 22-2275), said Maryland Assistant Attorney General Julia Doyle Bernhardt. In a Wednesday letter to the 4th Circuit, the state disagreed with U.S. Chamber of Commerce that Maryland lost any basis to defend the U.S. District Court of Maryland ruling under appeal by businesses (see 2307200029). The district court dismissed only one of four counts on prudential mootness grounds: the First Amendment claim, the assistant AG said. The court dismissed the others as barred by the Tax Injunction Act (TIA), she said. Maryland argues at the 4th Circuit that the TIA bars the entire action, said Bernhardt. “There is no basis to conclude that the decision of the state supreme court affects how this appeal should now proceed. And even if it did, the appropriate remedy would not be reversal, but rather a remand so that the First Amendment claim could be decided by the district court in the first instance.”

U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks for Western Arkansas in Fayetteville granted NetChoice’s unopposed motion to expand the 10-page limit of its reply brief to 15 pages but denied its request for a four-day deadline extension, said his text-only order Monday (docket 5:23-cv-05105). The deadline remains Thursday for NetChoice’s reply brief in support of its motion for a preliminary injunction to block Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin (R) from enforcing the state’s social media age verification law when it takes effect Sept. 1. Griffin opposed the deadline extension, saying it would be prejudicial to his case (see 2307310006).

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen (R) denies the plaintiffs in two consolidated court challenges to SB-419, Montana’s statewide TikTok ban, “are entitled to the relief sought or any form of relief,” said Knudsen’s answer Monday (docket 9:23-cv-00056) in U.S. District Court for Montana in Missoula. The plaintiffs fail to state a claim on which relief can be granted and lack standing, said the answer. The complaints seek an injunction on First Amendment grounds to block Knudsen from enforcing SB-419 when the measure takes effect Jan. 1 (see 2307070002).

CTIA urged a federal court to grant it summary judgment in the wireless association’s challenge to a Kentucky 911 law. The statute is preempted by federal law, said CTIA’s motion Friday at the U.S. District Court for Eastern Kentucky. "By uniquely shifting the burden of Kentucky’s 911 emergency services fee directly onto Lifeline providers, the Kentucky statute conflicts with the universal service objectives and purposes of Sections 151, 254 and 1510 of the Communications Act, as well as FCC decisions implementing that Act." For exclusively free Lifeline service providers, “compliance with state and federal law is simply impossible, which provides further grounds for preemption,” it said. By targeting Lifeline carriers for different treatment, the Kentucky law also violates the Constitution's equal protection and takings clauses and due process, said CTIA. A trial on CTIA’s legal fight with the Kentucky 911 Service Board (case 3:2020-cv-00043) is set for Jan. 30. The case is back in district court after the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals last year declined to rehear judges’ ruling that the lower court erred in concluding the 2018 federal Wireless Telecom Tax and Fee Collection Fairness Act conflicts with and preempts the Kentucky 911 law (see 2201280059). The 2020 state law made Lifeline providers directly liable for 911 fees and barred them from passing the charge to users.

U.S. District Judge Victoria Calvert denied in part and granted in part Georgia Public Service Commissioner Tim Echols’ motion to dismiss a freedom of speech complaint against him (see 2302070006), said her Thursday order (docket 1:22-cv-04548) in U.S. District Court for Northern Georgia in Atlanta. Plaintiff Patty Durand sought injunctive relief in the freedom of speech case after Echols blocked her and others from accessing his social media accounts. Durand is a “concerned and active citizen” who has voiced her opposition to policy positions articulated by Echols on his Twitter account; she was also a candidate for Echols’ seat on the PSC before that election was enjoined in 2022, Calvert noted. Before being blocked, Durand “repeatedly engaged” with Echols on Twitter, and after “years of ‘tweet’ exchanges," he blocked her, said the order. Durand “never made any threatening posts directed at Commissioner Echols or anyone else,” Calvert noted. Echols also blocked her from interacting with his Facebook posts. Echols argued he's entitled to qualified immunity on Durand's first count, retaliation for exercise of First Amendment free expression, and the second count, violation of Durand’s First and 14th amendments right to free speech, because there are no U.S. Supreme Court, 11th Circuit or Georgia Supreme Court cases where a state government employee in similar circumstances was held to have violated the First Amendment. Durand sued Echols in his individual and official capacities. Qualified immunity isn't a proper defense to official capacity claims, said Calvert: “To the extent Commissioner Echols’s Motion argues that the official capacity claims against him should be dismissed, the Motion is denied.” He's entitled to qualified immunity on the individual capacity claims, but counts one and two are allowed to proceed against him, she said. The parties’ preliminary report and discovery plan are due within 21 days of the order.

ISP associations’ challenge to Vermont’s net neutrality law will remain stayed until the 2nd U.S. Circuit Appeals Court resolves a New York appeal of the state’s broadband affordability law (case 21-1975), the U.S. District Court of Vermont said in a Tuesday minute entry in case 2:18-cv-167. It continues the stay ordered by the court in April 2022 (see 2204190072).

Utah urged a state court to hold TikTok in contempt for allegedly delayed and incomplete responses to subpoenas in a state probe, the office of Gov. Spencer Cox (R) said Tuesday. The Utah Consumer Protection Division filed a motion for order to show cause, asking Utah’s 3rd Judicial District Court to force TikTok to quickly comply. “That TikTok won’t even appropriately respond to the investigative subpoenas speaks volumes about the lack of TikTok’s credibility and transparency,” said Cox. Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes (R) “will not accept further excuses or delays,” he said. Commerce Department Executive Director Margaret Busse said “Utah residents deserve to have confidence in the companies they interact with, but TikTok’s evasive actions have eroded that trust.” TikTok didn’t comment.