Long Island Village Seeks Discovery Stay in Tower Fight With AT&T
Muttontown, New York, seeks a discovery stay in its cell tower fight with AT&T until U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert for Eastern New York in Central Islip rules on the village’s motion to dismiss AT&T’s complaint, Muttontown wrote U.S. Magistrate…
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Judge Lee Dunst in a letter Monday (docket 2:22-cv-05524). Forcing municipal clients to spend taxpayer money “for claims that more than likely will be dismissed would not be appropriate,” said the village of its rationale for a stay. AT&T responded in a separate letter to Dunst Monday, asking the judge to require Muttontown to file a formal motion for a discovery stay by Friday, or by “a date certain as soon thereafter as possible.” Muttontown “should not be permitted to further delay this matter” on the pretext that the court “has to first determine if a motion for a stay is necessary,” said AT&T. If the court enters a stay without a formal motion, AT&T “requests an opportunity to respond,” it said. Contrary to Muttontown’s assertions, AT&T’s claims are not more than likely to be dismissed, “and the pending motion to dismiss does not justify a stay of discovery,” it said. AT&T alleges the municipality violated the Telecommunications Act by denying the company’s application to build a 165-foot-tall cell tower to remedy service gaps in its wireless coverage, and not basing the denial on substantial written evidence in the record (see 2210090001).