AT&T Corp. v. City of Portland

216 F.3d 871 (2000)

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AT&T Corp. v. City of Portland

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
216 F.3d 871 (2000)

SC

Facts

AT&T Corp. (plaintiff) had an exclusive contract with Excite, an internet-service provider (ISP), to provide internet service bundled as part of AT&T’s @Home product. AT&T completed a merger with Telecommunications, Inc. (TCI). As part of the merger, each local franchising authority (LFA) with which TCI had a cable-franchise agreement had to approve a transfer of that franchise to AT&T. The City of Portland (defendant) was one such LFA. The city conditioned approval of the transfer of TCI’s franchise to AT&T on AT&T granting other ISPs paid access to its cable-modem platform. AT&T refused the condition, and the city denied the franchise transfer. AT&T sued the city in federal court, contending that the open-access mandate violated the Communications Act of 1934 (the act) because the act prohibited an LFA from regulating non-cable services through its cable-franchise agreement. The district court granted the city summary judgment.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Thomas, J.)

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Casebooks

Communication Law

Key Terms