It’s clear AT&T doesn’t want to pay Core Communications for toll-free calls, but it was never because Core engaged in fraudulent or spoofed traffic, as AT&T alleged, said Core’s reply brief Wednesday (docket 23-3022) in the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The truth is that AT&T doesn’t want to pay Core because from AT&T’s perspective, Core does little work, it said. Core’s appeal seeks to reverse the district court’s Oct. 13 summary judgment decision in AT&T’s favor (see 2310160018). The district court found that when purchasing toll-free calls from third parties that were destined for AT&T’s customers, Core didn’t provide its tariffed switched access services to AT&T and therefore couldn’t collect from AT&T its tariffed rates for that service. AT&T may regard Core as a laggard, but without “intermediary” telecom providers like Core, “there would be no practicable way for 8YY callers to connect with AT&T’s 8YY customers,” said Core’s reply. Without intermediaries like Core, “there would be no operable infrastructure for toll-free calling in the United States,” it said.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Appeals Court granted appellant Mark Walters' motion to remand his case to the Northern District of Georgia for an explanation about why it denied him reimbursement of the costs and fees he incurred in challenging OpenAI’s removal of his defamation case to federal court (see 2312110008), said its opinion Monday (docket 23-13843). Walters has said he incurred “significantly increased costs” as a result of OpenAI’s questionable removal of his case to federal court. Walters, a nationally syndicated talk show host, alleges OpenAI’s ChatGPT service defamed him to a reporter (see 2307240031). Walters argued that the district court failed to provide an explanation or analysis for its denial of costs and fees, which left the 11th Circuit with no means of reviewing whether the district court abused its discretion.

Any credit reporting offense that I.C. System committed in violation of federal or state law in its dealings with plaintiff Max Kusner was a “bona fide error,” said the defendant's answer Tuesday (docket 6:24-cv-00371) to Kusner's complaint in U.S. District Court for Middle Florida in Orlando. I.C. System admits no "liability whatsoever,” said its answer. Kusner sued I.C. System, Charter and Equifax in February (see 2402220021), alleging the debt collection company continued to demand a balance from him even after he returned his Charter equipment and didn’t owe the service provider any money. Kusner’s complaint and purported claims for relief are barred because he sustained no injury or damage as a result of an act or omission by I.C., said the defendant's answer. I.C. System requests an order dismissing the case and awarding it attorneys’ fees and costs, the filing said.

U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer for Southern New York in Manhattan granted SolarWinds’ March 22 letter motion to file Exhibit No. 17 under seal as part of its motion to dismiss the SEC’s amended securities fraud complaint (see 2403250039), said the judge’s signed order Monday (docket 1:23-cv-09518). “Good cause exists” for filing the document under seal because it reflects SolarWinds' “cybersecurity incident response plan,” said SolarWinds’ motion. Publicly revealing that information “could undermine SolarWinds' ability to respond to cyber incidents,” it said: “Given the sensitive nature of SolarWinds' incident response plan -- which could be exploited by a future threat actor -- sealing is warranted.” SolarWinds’ motion to dismiss called the SEC’s amended complaint “a case in search of a theory.”

Andrew Haymore seeks injunctive relief to restore his access to Amazon Games’ New World Official Discord community, said his motion Wednesday (docket 2:24-cv-00729) in U.S. District Court for Eastern California in Sacramento. The pro se plaintiff alleges that after seven months of enduring in-game harassment from Amazon and Amazon Games employees, he was “wrongfully and abusively banned” from the community, causing him “intense emotional distress.” Haymore’s Jan. 9 complaint describes him as a U.S. Army veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (see 2403110003).

U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola for Southern Mississippi in Gulfport entered a judgment of dismissal with prejudice in the Fair Debt Collection Act complaint brought against DirecTV after the parties reached a settlement, said the judge’s signed order Tuesday (docket 1:23-cv-00354). Each party will bear its own costs, said the order. Plaintiffs Jim and Maria Davis had alleged in their Dec. 7 complaint that DirecTV sent them past due notices after they had canceled service on one of their accounts (see 2312080037).

U.S. District Judge Esther Salas for New Jersey in Newark denied without prejudice Volkswagen Group of America’s motions to compel the 3G telematics claims of five plaintiffs to arbitration and to dismiss their claims (see 2306200001), said her signed opinion Tuesday (docket 2:22-cv-06230). The denials without prejudice are pending “limited fact discovery on the issue of arbitrability,” said the opinion. The plaintiffs allege that VWGofA, distributor of VW and Audi vehicles, knew well in advance of AT&T’s decision to terminate its 3G wireless service, yet did nothing to modernize its in-vehicle telematics equipment and kept car-buying consumers in the dark about it. Because the affirmative defense of arbitrability isn't apparent on the face of the amended complaint, the motion to compel arbitration must be denied pending limited discovery, said Salas’ opinion. While it’s true that the amended complaint relies on violation of express and implied warranties, nowhere does it tie these claims to the terms of service or the arbitration agreements, it said. Salas will defer ruling on VWGofA’s separate motion requesting dismissal of the amended complaint for failure to state a claim until deciding, upon VWGofA’s motion after the close of discovery, whether the plaintiffs’ claims are subject to arbitration, it said.

U.S. District Judge Jeremy Kernodle for Eastern Texas in Tyler set in-person oral argument for April 19 on all pending motions in the government censorship case brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) and the Daily Wire and Federalist media outlets, said the judge’s signed order Monday (docket 6:23-cv-00609). The plaintiffs allege that the State Department, through its Global Engagement Center, “is actively intervening” to render “disfavored” press outlets unprofitable by funding the marketing and promotion of “censorship technology and private censorship enterprises to covertly suppress speech of a segment of the American press” (see 2312060043).

Plaintiff Greg Bostard’s second amended complaint against Verizon’s lead cables, amended “solely for the purpose of adding an additional plaintiff” (see 2403130037), identifies that new plaintiff as Tony Rockhill, a New Jersey resident who has worked for Altice USA since 2008. Rockhill worked first as a field service technician and later as an outside service technician, the position he currently holds, said the complaint Monday (docket 1:23-cv-08564) in U.S. District Court for New Jersey in Newark. His work in both roles “brought him into regular contact with Verizon’s lead cables,” which are located some 15 inches from Altice’s cables, it said. As a result of this “close proximity,” his hands and arms “routinely have to touch Verizon’s cables in order to interact with Altice’s cables,” it said. As with Bostard, a former Comcast utility pole worker, when Rockhill perspires, “he sometimes rubs his face, including his eyes and mouth with his hands that had been in direct contact with Verizon’s lead-sheathed cables,” it said. The complaint seeks to compel Verizon to pay for their medical monitoring. April 18 is Verizon’s deadline to file a motion to dismiss the second amended complaint.

Former President Donald Trump sued ABC, ABC News and Sunday host George Stephanopoulos for defamation over comments Stephanopoulos made during a broadcast about a jury verdict on sexual assault allegations brought against Trump by journalist E. Jean Carroll. During a March 10 interview with Rep. Nancy Mace, R-South Carolina, on his Sunday ABC television show, Stephanopoulos repeatedly said that multiple juries found Trump liable for raping Carroll, said the complaint (docket 1:24-cv-21050), filed Monday in U.S. District Court for Southern Florida in Miami. In 2023, a federal jury found Trump liable for sexually assaulting Carroll, but not liable for raping her. Trump has appealed that verdict. “These statements were and remain false, and were made by Defendant Stephanopoulos with actual malice or with a reckless disregard for the truth,” said the complaint, which calls for punitive damages. ABC didn’t comment. As president and during his current campaign, Trump has repeatedly called for the FCC to act against the “licenses” of broadcast networks and cable news channels (see 2401170050).