“A settlement is highly unlikely” for Florida social media litigation, the parties said in a Monday filing at U.S. District Court in Tallahassee (case 4:21-cv-00220-RH-MAF). Florida seeks more extensive discovery than plaintiffs NetChoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association, said their report (in Pacer) on a July 16 conference. The industry groups proposed Nov. 15 to complete discovery and file dispositive motions, while Florida sees questions of fact requiring discovery continuing until May 2 and proposed a May 21 motions deadline. Florida last month appealed to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals the lower court's preliminary injunction (see 2107130033).
Importers seeking suspended liquidations of customs entries from China with Section 301 Lists 3 and 4A tariff exposure under the July 6 preliminary injunction (PI) order of the U.S. Court of International Trade would need to file their requests in a “repository” to be set up in the Customs and Border Protection’s Automated Commercial Environment database and back them up with emails to their appropriate CBP Center of Excellence and Expertise (CEE), say draft DOJ instructions (in Pacer) filed with the court Friday in docket 1:21-cv-52. “We have conferred with plaintiffs and understand that they will respond separately with their responses to these draft instructions,” said DOJ attorneys. Akin Gump lawyers for sample case plaintiffs HMTX Industries and Jasco Products didn’t comment. They're expected to repeat many of the same objections plaintiffs' steering committee lawyers raised at a July 23 status conference that the government, in complying with the PI order to suspend liquidations, wants to put too much onus on importers in processing liquidation-suspension requests. The instructions would establish 11 CEE “mailboxes” for importers to email their requests, each for a specific product sector with Lists 3 and 4A tariff exposure. Importers would be required to attach Excel spreadsheets to their emails listing seven “columns” of information the government says CBP requires to process suspension requests. Plaintiffs’ steering committee lawyers countered at the status conference that much of the information CBP seeks from importers already resides in the ACE system. The court requires the government to have the repository up and running by Aug. 6. It scheduled another status conference for Monday at 2 p.m.
Forty-six states, the District of Columbia and Guam appealed a U.S. District Court's June rejection of an antitrust complaint they and the FTC brought against Facebook (see 2106280057), per a notice of appeal (in Pacer, docket 20-cv-03589) Wednesday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The FTC isn't part of the appeal. It and Facebook didn't comment.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit agreed with the Communications Workers of America that the National Labor Relations Board wrongly overturned an administrative law judge's decision that T-Mobile discriminated against union activity at its call center in Wichita in violation of the National Labor Relations Act. Friday's decision in docket 20-1112 was written by Judge Cornelia Pillard. “We grant the Union’s petitions in full,” the court said: “The Board erred under our precedent by relying on its own post hoc distinction between permissible and impermissible employee conduct to reject the evidence of disparate treatment. Based on that evidence of disparate treatment, and because the policies and rationales that T-Mobile itself offered in defense of its actions do not support them, the Board’s decision to reverse the ALJ’s finding that T-Mobile discriminatorily enforced company policies related to email use is not supported by substantial evidence.” T-Mobile had responded to an email sent by a customer service representative through her work account inviting co-workers to join ongoing efforts at the call center to organize a union. T-Mobile reprimanded the employee and management sent out a facility-wide email saying it didn’t permit employees to send mass emails through the company's system for nonbusiness purposes. CWA has been trying to organize at the call center since 2009, the court said. Judith Rogers and Justin Walker were the other judges. T-Mobile didn't comment.
DOJ lawyers “are still conferring internally” about modifications proposed by the Section 301 plaintiffs to the July 6 preliminary injunction (PI) order freezing liquidations of unliquidated customs entries from China with Lists 3 and 4A tariff exposure, said a government filing at the U.S. Court of International Trade in docket 1:21-cv-5200 (in Pacer), made “under protest” due to defendants’ opposition to the PI. “A lack of response to any specific proposal should not be interpreted as agreeing to that proposal,” said DOJ. The government supports reliquidating, if the plaintiffs win the litigation, any entries that liquidated inadvertently during the PI order’s temporary restraining order (TRO) period due to Customs and Border Protection limitations, it said. “CBP only has the functionality to return liquidated entries to unliquidated status one entry at a time, and very few CBP personnel are knowledgeable and trained to utilize this very limited and extraordinary functionality,” said DOJ. The government has balked at accepting the plaintiffs’ proposal to obviate the need for CBP involvement by stipulating refunds would be available, at the end of the litigation if importers prevail on the merits, on all entries that liquidate in the normal course of business. The government missed Tuesday’s deadline for creating the “repository” required in the PI order for importers to identify for CBP which of their entries should not be liquidated. The repository is now due Aug. 6, said an order (in Pacer) signed Tuesday by Judges Claire Kelly and Jennifer Choe-Groves. Chief Judge Mark Barnett, who dissented from the PI order, didn't sign. The court also extended the TRO period when no entries can liquidate to Sept. 2 from Aug. 2. The government wanted it extended to 30 days after the repository is created. Plaintiffs wanted a 90-day TRO. The judges scheduled two more virtual status conferences, one Friday at 11 a.m., the other Aug. 2 at 2 p.m. For both conferences, said Tuesday’s order, “the Parties are ordered to each bring an individual authorized to make decisions for the respective Party.”
The Prettyman U.S. Courthouse in Washington isn't ready for a return to pre-pandemic operating status but anticipates reopening fully to the public as soon as Sept. 1 if increases in COVID-19 vaccination rates and declines in new cases continue, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Chief Beryl Howell ordered Thursday. The judge said it's likely that reopening would still have health and safety protocols being employed in public spaces in the courthouse. Howell said any presiding judge of any court proceeding can determine whether public or media spectators can sit in the courtroom during a proceeding. She said social distancing will be maintained and fully vaccinated courthouse staff and people authorized to use nonpublic areas in the courthouse needn't be masked in those nonpublic areas. She said a presiding judge has discretion to let participants, including jurors and spectators, in a proceeding remove masks while in the courtroom.
Florida appealed to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals a June 30 decision by U.S. District Court in Tallahassee to freeze the state’s law regulating social media. Florida filed a notice of appeal Tuesday at the lower court (case 4:21-cv-00220-RH-MAF). Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) pledged to continue the case (see 2107010055). NetChoice, one of the internet industry groups that sued, expects the appeals court to uphold the preliminary injunction, said a spokesperson. “We look forward to solidifying these important findings across the entire 11th Circuit." While Florida "is within its rights to appeal, its continued defense of a law that the district court concluded was clearly unconstitutional simply wastes taxpayers' dollars," said Computer and Communications Industry Association President Matt Schruers. A similar Texas bill up for consideration in a special session (see 2107080012) met another roadblock this week as Democratic state senators exited the state Monday to prevent a quorum on a different bill.
Verizon settled two patent lawsuits filedby China’s Huawei. Last year, Huawei sued in Texas, alleging the carrier used its patents without authorization. Huawei noted it holds more than 100,000 active patents, including some 10,000 in the U.S. Verizon's Monday statement is here.
It will be two years until trial on California’s net neutrality law, a federal judge ruled Thursday. Bench trial will be July 10, 2023, after a final pretrial conference May 26, 2023, Judge John Mendez ordered (in Pacer) Thursday at U.S. District Court for Eastern California. Dispositive motions are due Feb. 17, 2023, with a hearing on those motions April 11, 2023, he said. Discovery must be completed by Jan. 6, 2023. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral argument this fall on ISP groups appealing the lower court denying preliminary injunction (see 2107060046).
A federal court granted New York’s extension request, as the state works with ISP groups to resolve litigation over a broadband affordability law (see 2107060075). New York’s deadline to answer the complaint from the New York State Telecommunications Association and several national groups is now Aug. 11, and an initial conference is adjourned to Aug. 31, Magistrate Judge Kathleen Tomlinson ordered (in Pacer) Thursday in case 2:21-cv-02389 at U.S. District Court in Central Islip, New York.