DC Appeals Court Ruling In Comcast-FCC Case

United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT

Argued April 24, 2009 Decided August 28, 2009No. 08-1114C

OMCAST

C

ORPORATION

,P

ETITIONER

N

ATIONAL

C

ABLE

&

T

ELECOMMUNICATIONS

A

SSOCIATION ETAL

.,I

NTERVENORS

v.F

EDERAL

C

OMMUNICATIONS

C

OMMISSION AND

U

NITED

S

TATES OF

A

MERICA

,R

ESPONDENTS

CCTV

C

ENTER FOR

M

EDIA

&

D

EMOCRACY ET AL

.,I

NTERVENORS

On Petition for Review of an Orderof the Federal Communications Commission

Miguel A. Estrada

argued the cause for petitioner. Withhim on the briefs were

Theodore B. Olson

,

David Debold

,

Tyler R. Green

,

Helgi C. Walker

,

Eve Klindera Reed

,

Arthur J. Burke

, and

David P. Murray

.

Case: 08-1114 Document: 1203454 Filed: 08/28/2009 Page: 1

2

Mark D. Schneider

argued the cause for intervenorsNational Cable & Telecommunications Association et al. insupport of petitioner. With him on the briefs were

Michelle A. Groman

,

Bruce Douglas Sokler

,

Robert G. Kidwell

,

Howard J. Symons

,

Daniel L. Brenner

,

Neal M. Goldberg

,

Michael S. Schooler

,

Henk J. Brands

,

Wesley R. Heppler

, and

Robert G. Scott, Jr. Michael E. Glover

,

Edward Shakin

,

William H. Johnson

,

Patrick F. Philbin

, and

Gregory L. Skidmore

were on thebrief for

amicus curiae

Verizon Communications, Inc. insupport of petitioner.

W. Kenneth Ferree

was on the brief for

amicus curiae

theProgress & Freedom Foundation

in support of petitioner.

James M. Carr

, Counsel, Federal CommunicationsCommission, argued the cause for respondent. With him onthe brief were

Deborah A. Garza

, Acting Assistant AttorneyGeneral,

Catherine G. O’Sullivan

and

Robert J. Wiggers

,Attorneys,

Matthew B. Berry

, General Counsel, FederalCommunications Commission,

Joseph R. Palmore

, DeputyGeneral Counsel,

Richard K. Welch

, Deputy AssociateGeneral Counsel, and

Joel Marcus

, Counsel.

Daniel M. Armstrong

, Associate General Counsel, entered anappearance.

Andrew J. Schwartzman

argued the cause for intervenorsCCTV Center for Media & Democracy et al. in support of respondent. With him on the brief was

Harold Feld

.Before: G

INSBURG

and K

AVANAUGH

,

Circuit Judges

, andR

ANDOLPH

,

Senior Circuit Judge

.

Case: 08-1114 Document: 1203454 Filed: 08/28/2009 Page: 2

3Opinion for the Court filed by

Circuit Judge

G

INSBURG

.Separate opinion concurring except as to Part II.C filedby

Senior Circuit Judge

R

ANDOLPH

.G

INSBURG

,

Circuit Judge

: Comcast Corporation andseveral intervenors involved in the cable television industrypetition for review of a rule in which the FederalCommunications Commission capped at 30% of allsubscribers the market share any single cable televisionoperator may serve. We agree with Comcast that the 30%subscriber limit is arbitrary and capricious. We thereforegrant the petition and vacate the Rule.I. BackgroundThe Cable Television Consumer Protection andCompetition Act of 1992 directed the FCC, “[i]n order toenhance effective competition,” 47 U.S.C. § 533(f)(1), toprescrib[e] rules and regulations ... [to] ensurethat no cable operator or group of cableoperators can unfairly impede, either becauseof the size of any individual operator orbecause of joint actions by a group of operators of sufficient size, the flow of videoprogramming from the video programmer tothe consumer.

Id.

§ 533(f)(2)(A). The Commission is to “make such rulesand regulations reflect the dynamic nature of thecommunications marketplace.”

Id.

§ 533(f)(2)(E).Several cable operators immediately challenged certainprovisions of the Act, in particular arguing the subscriber

Case: 08-1114 Document: 1203454 Filed: 08/28/2009 Page: 3