Justia Government & Administrative Law Opinion Summaries

The members of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PPUC) and Core Communications, Inc., appealed a District Court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of AT&T Corp. Core billed AT&T for terminating phone calls from AT&T’s customers to Core’s Internet Service Provider (ISP) customers from 2004 to 2009. When AT&T refused to pay, Core filed a complaint with the PPUC, which ruled in Core’s favor. AT&T then filed suit in federal court seeking an injunction on the ground that the PPUC lacked jurisdiction over ISP-bound traffic because such traffic is the exclusive province of the Federal Communications Commission. After review of the matter, the Third Circuit found that the FCC’s jurisdiction over local ISP-bound traffic was not exclusive and the PPUC orders did not conflict with federal law. As such, the Court vacated the District Court’s order and remanded this case for entry of judgment in favor of Core and the members of the PPUC. View "AT&T Corp v. Core Communications Inc" on Justia Law

In a declaratory judgment action, the State appealed a superior court order granting summary judgment in favor of plaintiff STIHL Incorporated (individually, and d/b/a Northeast STIHL). STIHL is a corporation that manufactures, distributes, and sells an array of handheld power and non-power tools such as chain saws, leaf blowers, hedge trimmers, axes, pruners, and mauls. Although many of its products have engines, none has wheels, engine and transmission, or is capable of transporting a person from one location to another. In 1981, the legislature enacted RSA chapter 357-C, the so-called “dealer bill of rights,” to regulate, among others, automotive manufacturers and dealers. the legislature increased the level of regulation it imposed. As the legislature expanded RSA chapter 357-C, it also enacted RSA chapter 347-A, a similar but less comprehensive regulatory scheme providing protections to equipment dealers. After the enactment of SB 126, STIHL sought a declaratory judgment that RSA chapter 357-C, as amended, did not apply to it. The State countered that, as a “forestry” and “yard and garden” equipment manufacturer, STIHL was subject to regulation under RSA chapter 357-C. Both parties moved for summary judgment. The trial court found that RSA chapter 347-A, before it was repealed, regulated STIHL’s agreements with its dealers because, under that statutory scheme, the legislature chose to broadly define the term “equipment.” Nevertheless, the court concluded that because STIHL produces only handheld, not ground-supported or wheeled, equipment, it falls outside of the purview of amended RSA chapter 357-C. Finding no reversible error in the superior court’s judgment, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "STIHL, Inc. v. New Hampshire" on Justia Law

Appellant AT&T (together with subsidiaries) appealed a Tax Court judgment that denied AT&T's claim for a refund of a portion of the Oregon corporate excise taxes it paid for tax years 1996 through 1999. The dispute centered on AT&T's sale of interstate and international phone and data transmissions. The issue this case presented on appeal to the Supreme Court was whether those sales were counted in determining the fraction of AT&T's income that Oregon can tax. AT&T presented a cost study that purported to show that Oregon did not have the greatest share of the "costs of performance." The Department of Revenue challenged AT&T's interpretation of "income-producing activity" and attacked the validity of its cost study. The Tax Court ruled in favor of the department. Upon review, the Supreme Court concluded that AT&T did not use a correct definition of "income-producing activity [:] AT&T's proposed interpretation [was] network-based; it focused on the operation of its network as a whole. The correct understanding, however, is transaction-based; it examines individual sales to customers. AT&T thus failed to meet its burden of proof, because it did not correctly calculate the 'costs of performance' for the correct 'income-producing activities.'" View "AT&T Corp. v. Dept. of Rev." on Justia Law

The City of Birmingham sued "Bonedaddy's of Lee Branch" for failing to pay its business-license taxes, occupational taxes, interest, penalties and fees for multiple years since the business' formation in 2007. The City alleged that the defendants had failed and refused to submit business records and tax returns for the periods that were the subject of the complaint; that the defendants were currently engaged in business in the City of Birmingham in violation of the City's business-license code; and that notice of the final tax assessments had been mailed but that no payments had been forthcoming. The City asked the trial court to enter a preliminary injunction directing the defendants to refrain from further conducting business within the City and causing the sheriff to padlock the defendants' place of business in the City. The trial court ultimately granted the City's request, and Bonedaddy's was prohibited from further business until its back-taxes were paid. Cowan and Bonedaddy's argued on appeal that the trial court did not have subject-matter jurisdiction to enter a final judgment against defendant John Cowan in this case because, they say, the City did not comply with certain provisions of the Alabama Taxpayers' Bill of Rights and Uniform Revenue Procedures Act. Upon review, the Supreme Court found that the City had issued a final sales-tax assessment against Bonedaddy's. The notice of final assessment, however, did not name Cowan individually as the taxpayer nor was the notice mailed to Cowan. Additionally, the City did not present any evidence at trial to indicate that it had ever issued a final sales-tax assessment against Cowan per se. Based on the evidence presented at trial, it did not appear that the City complied with the requirements of the TBOR with regard to Cowan. The Court reversed the trial court with respect to Cowan's responsibility to pay Bonedaddy's outstanding sale taxes, but affirmed with regard to the tax assessments against Bonedaddy's itself. View "Bonedaddy's of Lee Branch, LLC v. City of Birmingham" on Justia Law

Plaintiff Duarte Nursery, Inc. sold grape rootstock. It challenged mandatory assessments it had to pay to the California Grape Rootstock Improvement Commission to help fund research for pest-resistant and drought-resistant rootstock, arguing this “Commission Law” and the Commission’s operation as an unconstitutional exercise of the state’s police power in violation of plaintiff’s liberty interests and due process rights under the federal and state Constitutions. In this appeal, instead of claiming impairment of its rights to free speech or free association, plaintiff asserted a right to refuse to help fund research that benefitted the industry as a whole. Plaintiff sought injunctive and declaratory relief and refunds. After a bench trial, the trial court entered judgment in favor of defendants, the Commission and the Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture (Secretary). Finding no reversible error, the Court of Appeal affirmed. View "Duarte Nursery v. Cal. Grape Rootstock Improvement Comm." on Justia Law

TracFone Wireless, Inc. was a non-facilities-based commercial mobile radio service provider (a pure wireless reseller) that provided prepaid wireless telecommunications services. It desired to be designated as an eligible telecommunications carrier (ETC), which would permit TracFone to provide wireless telecommunications services to qualified low-income consumers and to receive money from the Universal Service Fund to subsidize such services. In 2004, TracFone filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission asking that it forbear from the statutory requirement that an ETC must provide services, at least in part, over its own facilities. The Commission granted the forbearance, subject to specific conditions, including the requirement that TracFone "must have direct contact with the customer." In 2010, TracFone filed a petition with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission (PUC) seeking designation as an ETC, pursuant to 47 U.S.C. 214(e)(2). The PUC initially denied the petition on the ground that it would not serve the public interest because TracFone was not paying the fees required by the Idaho Telecommunications Service Assistance Program and the Idaho Emergency Communications Act. TracFone appealed to the Supreme Court. But while that appeal was pending, the PUC staff and TracFone agreed to a settlement under which TracFone would pay the fee required by the Telecommunications Service Assistance Program and it would file a declaratory judgment action seeking a judicial determination of whether it was required to pay the fee required by the Emergency Communications Act. The PUC accepted the stipulation and issued an order approving it on May 18, 2012. In June of that same year, TracFone filed this suit against the State of Idaho and the Idaho Emergency Communications Commission (collectively "State") seeking a determination that TracFone was not required to remit an emergency communication fee. The district court's judgment simply stated who prevailed. In its memorandum decision, the court stated, "Section 31-4802(13)(d) applies to Tracfone [sic], making it a ‘telecommunications provider' and thus subject to the Act's fee-collection duty." Assuming that was its intended declaratory judgment, the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment on appeal. View "Tracfone Wireless v. Idaho" on Justia Law

The Delaware Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Commissioner appealed a superior court judgment dismissing his claim against the Delaware Alcoholic Beverage Control Appeals Commission for lack of standing. The Appeals Commission overturned the ABC Commissioner's decision to deny an application for a change of license classification by Lex-Pak, Inc., d/a/b Hak's Sports Bar & Restaurant. Hak's filed a motion to dismiss on grounds that the ABC Commissioner lacked standing. The superior court agreed and dismissed the case. After its review, the Supreme Court concluded that the Delaware Code did not vest the ABC Commissioner with standing to pursue an appeal of decisions by the Appeals Commission. Accordingly, the Court affirmed the superior court's judgment. View "Office of the Commissioner Delaware Alcoholic Beverage Control v. Appeals Commission Delaware Alcoholic Beverage Control" on Justia Law

Harley-Davidson, Inc. and several of its subsidiaries sued the Franchise Tax Board for a tax refund. The trial court sustained the Board's demurrer to Harley-Davidson's commerce clause challenge to Revenue and Taxation Code provisions that allowed intrastate unitary businesses to choose annually whether to compute their tax using the combined reporting method or the separate accounting method but required interstate unitary businesses to compute their tax using only the combined reporting method. After review of the Board's arguments on appeal, the Court of Appeal concluded the trial court erred in sustaining the demurrer because the statutory scheme facially discriminated on the basis of an interstate element in violation of the commerce clause. The Court reversed the judgment in that respect and remanded to the trial court to determine in the first instance whether the taxation scheme withstands strict scrutiny (that is, whether it "'advances a legitimate local purpose that cannot be adequately served by reasonable nondiscriminatory alternatives.'") On a separate issue, the trial court determined after a bench trial that two Harley-Davidson subsidiaries were taxable by California during the tax years 2000 through 2002. Harley-Davidson argued the trial court erred by finding those subsidiaries bore a sufficient nexus to this state to overcome due process and commerce clause limitations on taxing foreign entities. The Court of Appeal disagreed on this and affirmed the judgment. View "Harley-Davidson v. Franchise Tax Bd." on Justia Law

Aladdin, a licensed bail agent, sought to enjoin GPS from engaging in bail agent activities in violation of state licensing and regulatory requirements. The superior court dismissed Aladdin’s claim for false advertising under the federal Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. 1125(a) and granted a defense motion for summary judgment on claims alleging violations of California’s Unfair Competition Law, Business and Professions Code 17200. The court of appeal affirmed, holding that Aladdin lacked standing to maintain a UCL claim; undisputed evidence showed that the commercial activities of GPS associated with its processing of credit or debit card transactions for cash bail payments do not require GPS to obtain a bail bond license, so that GPS is not in violation of the UCL; and Aladdin’s complaint failed to state a Lanham Act claim, as a matter of law. View "Two Jinn, Inc. v. Gov't Payment Serv., Inc." on Justia Law

Marion’s Quality Services, Inc. was a Nebraska corporation doing business as It’s a Kidz World Child Care Center (Center) and as Deb’s Learning Place Family Child Care Home II (Home). In 2012, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), a state agency responsible for the enforcement of the Child Care Licensing Act, revoked Marion’s licenses to operate the Center and the Home. Marion’s submitted an administrative appeal, and the cases were consolidated. After an administrative appeal hearing, DHHS upheld the revocation of the license for the Home but reversed the revocation of the Center’s license. In lieu of revocation of the license, DHHS imposed an alternative penalty in the form of additional probation and a civil penalty. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the district court’s ruling upholding DHHS’ findings regarding the Center’s license was supported by competent evidence and was not arbitrary, capricious, or unreasonable; and (2) the district court’s ruling upholding DHHS’ findings regarding the Home’s license was supported by competent evidence, conformed to the law, and was not arbitrary, capricious, or otherwise unreasonable. View "Marion’s Quality Servs., Inc. v. Neb. Dep’t of Health & Human Servs." on Justia Law