Court Dismisses (Verizon's) Net Neutrality Lawsuits

[Chef Eric]

By ELIZA KRIGMAN | 4/4/11 5:11 PM EDT Updated: 4/4/11 5:24 PM EDT

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Monday dismissed the net neutrality lawsuits brought against the FCC by Verizon and MetroPCS, ruling that the order cannot be challenged until it appears in the Federal Register. The FCC has not yet published its Open Internet Order in the Federal Register, which effectively delays any other potential court challenges.

But the setback did not seem to faze Verizon. “This is part of an ongoing process,” Ed McFadden, a spokesman for Verizon, told POLITICO. “When the rules are published, we will file a secondary appeal,” he added.

Consumer groups and the FCC rejoiced at the court’s decision. “We are pleased that the Court dismissed Verizon’s untimely and distracting challenge to the FCC’s net neutrality order,” Harold Feld, legal director of Public Knowledge, said in a statement. “Now we are confident the judicial system will deal with any and all appeals raised in an orderly and fair manner.”

“Verizon attempted to ‘game the system’ by attempting to challenge the FCC's open Internet decision prior to its official release,” Andrew Schwartzman, president of the Media Access Project, said in a statement. “It was a blatant effort to steer the case to a sympathetic court, but the judges unanimously agreed that the ‘appeals’ prematurity was incurable.’”

<http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/52517.html>

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Allow me to quote Nelson Muntz... "Ha-Ha!"