The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has lifted the stay in Consumers’ Research’s latest challenge to the USF, according to an order Wednesday in docket 25-60535. The FCC previously requested the stay during the government shutdown and earlier this week asked for it to be lifted (see 2512020011).
The FCC asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to lift the stay in Consumers’ Research’s latest challenge to the USF, according to a filing Monday in docket 25-60535. Petitioners agreed to the motion, said the agency, which previously sought the delay until the government reopened (see 2511040071).
Consumers’ Research and other parties challenging the legality of the USF contribution factor at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals urged the court not to allow various public interest groups to intervene. Motions to intervene were filed last month by the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition and jointly by the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance and the Center for Media Justice (see 2510300042). The 5th Circuit stayed the case Tuesday because of the federal shutdown (see 2511040071).
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Tuesday agreed to stay Consumers’ Research’s latest challenge to the USF because of the federal government shutdown, as requested by the FCC (see 2510310043), said an order in docket 25-60535. The request wasn’t opposed by any of the parties in the case. A lawyer involved in the proceeding said the order was “no big deal” and responds to a motion that the government is filing in almost all new non-urgent cases.
The FCC has asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to stay Consumers’ Research’s legal challenge to the USF because of the federal shutdown, said a motion filed Friday in docket 25-60535. The request for stay is unopposed, it said. The agency wants the court to stay the case until 14 days after the shutdown ends and extend all deadlines to the date the stay is lifted. The next filing deadline in the case is currently Nov. 10. The reduction in the FCC and DOJ workforces caused by the shutdown “has effectively eliminated the ability of counsel who have worked on and are familiar with this case to handle the litigation while the lapse in appropriations continues,” the filing said.
Several public interest groups are seeking to intervene in Consumers' Research’s 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals challenge to the constitutionality of the USF, according to court filings. Motions to intervene have been filed by the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition and jointly by the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance and the Center for Media Justice. Consumers’ Research is expected to oppose the motions to intervene, though such motions from the same groups have been granted in previous cases that Consumers’ Research brought against the USF, the filings said.
Consumers’ Research and its allies renewed their attack on the legality of the USF contribution factor, filing a petition with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week challenging it for Q4. Last month, the group withdrew an earlier challenge at the 5th Circuit, but industry observers predicted at the time that it would file a new one (see 2509170072). In August, Consumers’ Research asked the FCC to zero out the factor for Q4 (see 2506130016).
Consumers’ Research and other challengers of the USF contribution factor in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to end their current challenge there. The government and challengers said in a filing with the court that they “hereby stipulate to the dismissal of the petitions in the above proceedings, with each side to bear its own costs and fees.”
Consumers’ Research and its allies objected Friday to the proposed USF contribution factor for Q4, citing unanswered questions from the group’s unsuccessful challenge in the U.S. Supreme Court in late June. The factor is projected to increase from 36% in Q3 to 39.3% in Q4, based on the latest projections from the Universal Service Administrative Co. (see 2508040049).
Consumers’ Research said the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals should look more closely at an issue raised in the dissent and a footnote in the majority opinion of the Supreme Court’s decision in June upholding the legality of the USF. The FCC and DOJ last week asked the 5th Circuit not to require further briefing but close the case (see 2507170063).