FCC Oversight Doesn't Stop Local Court Jurisdiction: Bankruptcy Judge
FCC jurisdiction over radio licenses doesn’t mean local courts don’t have jurisdiction over contracts involving those stations, said a U.S. Bankruptcy Court order in Kansas last week, in docket 22-20242. The order concerned a local marketing agreement between Rocking M…
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Media, licensee of two radio stations, and Meridian Media, which supplied the stations’ programming under the LMA. The companies disagree over whether Rocking M agreed to the LMA and whether Rocking M’s attempt to terminate it was a breach of contract. In the order, Judge Dale Somers rejected Rocking’s argument that only the FCC could determine the validity of the LMA, and said the court will decide in the future if factual issues in the case will be referred to the FCC. “RMM's argument that the FCC has exclusive jurisdiction over the LMA disregards established FCC deference to decisions of local courts in contract disputes between private parties,” the opinion said. “Absent unforeseen events, the Court believes that deciding whether to refer issues in this controversy to the FCC should be reserved until after trial on the merits.”