MCI Telecommunications Corp. v. AT&T Co. case brief

MCI Telecommunications Corp. v. AT&T Co. case brief summary
512 U.S.  218 (1994)

CASE SYNOPSIS

Petitioner, a telecommunication company, sought review of a decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, which held that the Federal Communications Commission's authorization of permissive detariffing violated § 203(a) of the Communications Act, 47 U.S.C.S. § 203.

CASE FACTS
Petitioner, a telecommunications company, sought review of a decision of the lower appellate court, which held that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had exceeded its authority under § 203 of the Communications Act, 47 U.S.C.S. § 203, in authorizing permissive detariffing. The other telecommunications companies had protested the practice. Permissive detariffing had allowed petitioner to go without mandatory reporting of its rates.

DISCUSSION

• The court held that § 203 of the Communications Act, 47 U.S.C.S. § 203, did not allow the FCC to make fundamental changes in their authority. 
• Since an agency's interpretation of a statute was not entitled to deference where it went beyond the meaning the statute could bear, the court affirmed the decision of the lower appellate court. 
• The court ruled in favor of the other communications companies and disallowed the practice.

OUTCOME

The court denied petitioner the relief requested and affirmed the decision of the lower appellate court to disallow the federal agency's authorization of permissive detariffing on the grounds that such authorization exceeded the scope of the agency's authority.

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