The U.S. Dist. Court, N.Y., granted a motion for preliminary inju...
The U.S. Dist. Court, N.Y., granted a motion for preliminary injunction filed by Vonage against the N.Y. PSC, after the Commission found Vonage was a telecom service provider subject to its jurisdiction. Magistrate Judge Douglas Eaton said Vonage was…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
“likely to succeed on the merits of its claim that the PSC order is preempted by federal law.” It said the PSC order “will interfere with interstate commerce” and the company “will suffer irreparable harm absent injunctive relief.” Telecom attorney William Wilhelm said those 2 conclusions were particularly important, because “Judge Eaton chose to find that Vonage was likely to succeed on the merits, not only by citing the Minnesota federal court order holding that Vonage was an information service, but also by finding that regulation of the Vonage service would interfere with interstate commerce.” The court said Vonage agreed to continue while the preliminary injunction was in force to provide emergency 911 service in N.Y. and would “engage in voluntary industry-wide discussions concerning 911.” It said the order didn’t preclude the PSC from receiving complaints from Vonage customers and offering to provide nonbinding mediation of disputes, but noted Vonage didn’t accept PSC jurisdiction over complaints. It said “Vonage will not, by virtue of its voluntary cooperation with the PSC during the pendency of the preliminary injunction, be subject to, or be considered to have conceded the application to it of, any New York laws, regulations or rules applicable to telephone corporations.” The court said the FCC’s guidance on the issues discussed in its IP Rulemaking and in Vonage’s petition seeking the preemption of Minn.’s attempt to regulate it (CD Sept 26 p9) “may aid in final resolution of this matter.” It scheduled a status conference Dec. 13 to discuss the progress of the FCC proceedings and of “any rulings or resolutions issued by the FCC or other courts that are pertinent to this matter.”