FCC asks D.C. to transfer writ debate to 8th Circuit

The Federal Communications Commission today filed a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that seeks transfer to the 8th Circuit appeals court of a previously filed writ of mandamus. The U.S. Telecom Association and the Bell companies had requested the writ, which would stay the FCC’s Triennial Review order, pending appeals court review. The 8th Circuit was awarded the appeal after notices had been filed in multiple circuits by the USTA, the Bells and competitive carriers, which necessitated a lottery to determine jurisdiction. Accordingly, the FCC said federal law requires that all pending proceedings of a contested order must be transferred to the appeals court in which the review has been consolidated. 

In May 2002, the D.C. Circuit, in USTA v. FCC, remanded the commission’s unbundling rules, saying that the decision to force uniform unbundling nationwide was inconsistent with the 1996 Telecommunications Act. “It is no surprise that the FCC doesn’t want to face that court again, and instead wants to shift the debate to the Eighth Circuit. The fact is that the FCC’s Triennial Review Order ignored the Court’s clear direction and instructions,” said USTA President and CEO Walter McCormick in a statement.