Opinion ID: 2516648
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Dismissed Claims Against Governmental and Telephone Service Provider Defendants

Text: {5} The district court held that Plaintiffs' claims against governmental and telephone service provider Defendants for damages, restitution, or imposition of a constructive trust were barred by the filed rate doctrine. The filed rate doctrine was first established by the United States Supreme Court in Keogh v. Chicago & N.W. Ry. Co., 260 U.S. 156, 163-4, 43 S.Ct. 47, 67 L.Ed. 183 (1922), when the Court barred plaintiff's antitrust claim based on price fixing because a regulatory agency had approved defendant's rates which happened to be higher than the competitive market. The filed rate doctrine is a doctrine that allows for any `filed rate'  that is, one approved by the governing regulatory agency  [to be] per se reasonable and unassailable in judicial proceedings brought by ratepayers. Miranda v. Michigan, 141 F.Supp.2d 747, 757 (E.D.Mich.2001) (quoting Wegoland Ltd. v. NYNEX Corp., 27 F.3d 17, 18 (2d Cir.1994)). As the district court noted in its ruling, [t]he heart of the filed rate doctrine is not that the rate mirrors a competitive market, nor that the rate is reasonable or thoroughly researched, it is that the filed rate is the only legal rate. Daleure v. Kentucky, 119 F.Supp.2d 683, 689 (W.D.Ky.2000). The policy behind the filed rate doctrine is to prevent price discrimination and to preserve the role of agencies in approving rates and to keep courts out of the rate-making process. Arsberry v. Illinois, 117 F.Supp.2d 743, 744 (N.D.Ill.2000). Since its inception, the filed rate doctrine has not been changed or qualified by the Supreme Court. See Daleure, 119 F.Supp.2d at 689. In light of the history behind the filed rate doctrine, we believe that this Court should think deeply before avoiding its application without good reason. Id. In New Mexico, the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (NMPRC) regulates intrastate calls. NMSA 1978, § 63-9A-8(A) (1987). The NMPRC has exempted inmate telephone services from several of its regulations and has authorized the rates at issue. We hold that under the filed rate doctrine these rates are legal and that Plaintiffs' claims for damages, restitution, or imposition of a constructive trust were properly dismissed by the district court.
{6} The district court concluded that Plaintiffs' claims for injunctive or future relief against governmental and telephone service provider Defendants were barred by the primary jurisdiction doctrine. The primary jurisdiction doctrine is a doctrine by which courts that have jurisdiction defer to the expertise of an administrative body. See Norvell v. Ariz. Pub. Serv. Co., 85 N.M. 165, 170, 510 P.2d 98, 103 (1973). The doctrine is concerned with preserving the relationship between courts and administrative agencies. Id. Under this doctrine, the judicial process is suspended pending referral of such issues to the administrative body for its views. Id. In New Mexico, we have recognized that this Court is not a ratemaking body and [w]e recognize the expertise of the commission in public utility management. Comm'n Investigation v. State Corp. Comm'n, 1999-NMSC-016, ¶ 15, 127 N.M. 254, 980 P.2d 37 (quoted material and quotation marks omitted). In the present matter, the NMPRC has the expertise to determine whether the collect call telephone rates provided at the correctional facilities are reasonable. Under the primary jurisdiction doctrine, we conclude that it was proper for the district court to defer to the expertise of NMPRC. Therefore, we affirm the district court's decision to dismiss Plaintiffs' claims for injunctive or future relief under the primary jurisdiction doctrine. {7} Any injunctive or future relief claims are also moot under recent legislation passed by the New Mexico legislature. This recent legislation requires any contract entered into by the telephone service providers and private or public correctional facilities to provide inmates with telephone services at the lowest rate. See 2001 NM Laws, ch. 33, 115. It also prohibits telephone service providers from paying a correctional facility a commission or other payment based upon these contracts. Id. In light of this recent legislation, we hold that any claims for injunctive or future relief in the present case are moot.
{8} The district court concluded that the City of Espanola, Rio Arriba County, and the telephone service provider Defendants could not be liable under the NMUPA and the New Mexico Antitrust Act. [1] The district court held that under NMSA 1978, § 57-12-7 (1999) of the NMUPA, any laws administered by a regulatory body are expressly permitted. Section 57-12-7 states that [n]othing in the Unfair Practices Act shall apply to actions or transactions expressly permitted under laws administered by a regulatory body of New Mexico or the United States.... The district court also dismissed claims brought under the New Mexico Antitrust Act against the City of Espanola, Rio Arriba County, and the telephone service provider Defendants finding that these claims were specifically barred under NMSA 1978, § 57-1-16(A) (1987) of the Antitrust Act. Section 57-1-16(A) is similar to Section 57-12-7 of the NMUPA in that it states that [n]othing contained in the Antitrust Act is intended to prohibit actions which are ... clearly and expressly authorized by any ... regulatory body.... In New Mexico, the NMPRC is authorized to fix, determine, supervise, regulate and control all charges and rates of ... telephone ... companies ... within the state. NMSA 1978, § 63-7-1.1(A)(1) (1998). As discussed earlier, the collect call telephone rates at issue are under the primary jurisdiction of the NMPRC. Because the rates at issue are under the primary jurisdiction of the NMPRC, a regulatory agency, these rates are expressly permitted under Section 57-12-7 of the NMUPA and Section 57-1-16(A) of the Antitrust Act. Therefore, Defendants did not violate NMUPA or the New Mexico Antitrust Act, and we agree with the district court's decision that Counts I and II were properly dismissed.