|
Litigation
Qwest v. Portland - Appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit - COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF CITIES
• The Ninth Circuit's decision on the Qwest v. Portland appeal.
• Counsel Memo: Update on Qwest Decision
• Court to Qwest: Pay Oregon Cities for Use of Public Property - LOC Press Release 10-12-04
• Background information on Qwest v. Portland Lawsuit.
• Appellate Briefs from Qwest, Portland, Eugene, Intervening Cities, and The League of Oregon Cities.
Qwest v. Portland - Court Decision
• Qwest to Pay Cities: "Stipulation for Qwest to Pay Funds to Non-Party Oregon Cities."
The Qwest and LOC attorneys reach an agreement on 4/30/02. Negotiations continue for the party cities.
• Court Rules for Cities in Qwest Case
- READ JUDGE JELDERKS WRITTEN DECISION
On the afternoon of Friday, March 1, in an unusually swift ruling, Federal Judge Jelderks ruled in favor of cities in the Qwest (Qwest v. Portland) case. His one-sentence ruling issued orally from the bench is as follows: "Under the facts of this case, the federal law does not preempt the
revenue based fees charged by cities for the use of the right of way."
The judge stated that he was ruling in this fashion in light of the significant budgetary importance of this issue. He will set out his reasoning in a written opinion he expects to complete by the end of
March. This is a major victory for Oregon cities and reflects the superb legal work of the attorneys working on the case.
There are other issues in this case beyond franchise which were not decided.
City attorneys are analyzing the decision and discussing tactics to compel Qwest to pay cities what they owe.
- Statements on the ruling: Tualatin Mayor Lou Ogden, LOC President; Portland Mayor Vera Katz; Pendleton Mayor Robert Ramig.
Other Court Cases
• City of Auburn v. Qwest Corporation: The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' decision concerning municipal franchise fees, April 24, 2001.
• Oregon Court of Appeals opinions (10/31/01) in cases challenging the City of Eugene's telecom ordinance:
- AT&T and AT&T Wireless
- Sprint
- U.S. West
- TCI
|
League of Oregon Cities
1201 Court St. NE •
Salem, OR 97301
800-452-0338 •
503-588-6550
Fax: 503-399-4863
loc@orcities.org
|
|
Products & Services
Yellow Pages
Job
Openings
Current Surveys
Request for
Proposals
Classifieds
|
A - Z Index
Site Help