Friday, November 1, 2013

AT&T Corp. v. Iowa Utilities Board case brief

AT&T Corp. v. Iowa Utilities Board case brief summary
525 U.S. 366 (1999)

CASE SYNOPSIS
Certiorari was granted to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit to address, in consolidated cases, whether the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had authority to implement certain pricing and non-pricing provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (Act). Also before the Court was whether the FCC's rules governing unbundled access and "pick and choose" negotiation were consistent with the Act.

CASE FACTS
In separate groups of cases, local exchange carriers (LECs) and state commissions challenged the federal government's rulemaking authority under the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (Act), alleging that primary authority to implement local-competition provisions belonged to the states rather than to the government. They argued that many of the government's local-competition rules were invalid, most notably the one requiring that prices for interconnection and unbundled access be based on "Total Element Long Run Incremental Cost".

DISCUSSION
  • The lower courts agreed, and vacated the government's pricing rules after finding the government's actions were beyond its jurisdiction. 
  • In one group of cases, the lower court judgment was reversed in part and affirmed in part, and the other group was reversed in part. 
  • Both groups of cases were remanded. 
  • The government had rulemaking authority to carry out the provisions of the Act. 
  • The government's "pick and choose rule," which governed terms of agreements between LECs and competing carriers, was reinstated. 
  • The government had jurisdiction to design a pricing methodology and promulgate rules regarding state review of pre-existing interconnection agreements.

OUTCOME

The government had rulemaking authority to carry out provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, had jurisdiction to design a pricing methodology and to promulgate rules regarding state review of pre-existing interconnection agreements. The Court vacated a regulation, as the agency did not reasonably interpret the terms of the statute at issue. The Court reinstated the government's "pick and choose rule."

Recommended Supplements for Administrative Law Examples & Explanations: Administrative Law, Fourth Edition
Administrative Law and Process: In a Nutshell (Nutshell Series)

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