Opinion ID: 796874
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Burden of Proof Required to Show a Violation of Section 253(a)

Text: 14 Having held that a violation of section 253(a) is a prerequisite to section 253(c) analysis, we now address what a plaintiff must establish to support a violation of section 253(a). 15 Section 253 (a) states: No State or local statute or regulation, or other State or local legal requirement, may prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting the ability of any entity to provide any interstate or intrastate telecommunications service. Under a plain reading of the statute, we find that a plaintiff suing a municipality under section 253(a) must show actual or effective prohibition, rather than the mere possibility of prohibition. We again acknowledge that other courts hold otherwise and suggest that possible prohibition will suffice. Qwest Commc'ns Inc. v. City of Berkeley, 433 F.3d 1253, 1256 (9th Cir. 2006); Qwest Corp. v. City of Portland, 385 F.3d 1236, 1239 (9th Cir.2004), cert. denied, 544 U.S. 1049, 125 S.Ct. 2300, 161 L.Ed.2d 1089 (2005); Qwest Corp. v. City of Santa Fe, 380 F.3d 1258, 1270 n. 9 (10th Cir.2004); City of Auburn v. Qwest Corp., 260 F.3d 1160, 1175 (9th Cir.2001); see also Puerto Rico v. Municipality of Guayanilla, 450 F.3d 9, 18 (1st Cir.2006); Puerto Rico Tel. Co. v. Telecomms. Regulatory Bd., 189 F.3d 1, 9 (1st Cir.1999). 16 We disagree with the approach of our sister circuits because they reach a conclusion contrary to a complete analysis of the section. Examination of the entirety of section 253(a) reveals the subject of the sentence, [n]o State or local statute or regulation, or other State or local legal requirement is followed by two discrete phrases, one barring any regulation which prohibits telecommunications services, and another barring regulations achieving effective prohibition. However, no reading results in a preemption of regulations which might, or may at some point in the future, actually or effectively prohibit services, as our sister circuits seem to suggest. By inserting the word that before may, as one circuit has done, Puerto Rico v. Municipality of Guayanilla, 450 F.3d at 18 (1st Cir.2006), or by creative quotation, as another circuit has found convenient, e.g., Qwest Corp. v. City of Portland, 385 F.3d at 1239 (9th Cir.2004), the most precise meaning of section 253(a) has been distorted. 17 When the language of a statute is clear, as we believe is the case with section 253(a), our only duty is to enforce the enactment according to its terms. E.g., Lamie v. United States Trustee, 540 U.S. 526, 534, 124 S.Ct. 1023, 157 L.Ed.2d 1024 (2004). Thus, we hold that a plaintiff suing a municipality under section 253(a) must show actual or effective prohibition, rather than the mere possibility of prohibition. The plaintiff need not show a complete or insurmountable prohibition, see TCG New York, Inc. v. City of White Plains, 305 F.3d 67, 76 (2d Cir.2002), but it must show an existing material interference with the ability to compete in a fair and balanced market. Cal. Payphone Ass'n, 12 F.C.C.R. 14,191, 14,206, 1997 WL 400726(FCC) ¶ 31 (July 17, 1997).