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Hawaii Co. Insists $200M FCC Case Should Stay In Fed. Circ.
Law360 (May 10, 2021, 7:31 PM EDT) A bankrupt Hawaiian telecommunication company has argued that the Federal Circuit wrongly upheld a trial court s dismissal of its lawsuit seeking to recoup $200 million in funding pulled by the Federal Communications Commission, saying the full circuit court bench must rethink the ruling.
Sandwich Isles Communications Inc. asked the Federal Circuit on Friday for a panel rehearing or, alternatively, a rehearing en banc and reversal, saying a unanimous three-judge panel s April 1 precedential opinion erroneously holds that the correct venue for the dispute is the D.C. Circuit. The case concerns Sandwich Isles Communications challenge to an FCC order that cut off.
A bankrupt Hawaiian telecommunication company has argued that the Federal Circuit wrongly upheld a trial court's dismissal of its lawsuit seeking to recoup $200 million in funding pulled by the Federal Communications Commission, saying the full circuit court bench must rethink the ruling.
3 days ago
Last Thursday, the Federal Circuit ruled on a challenge brought by Sandwich Isles Communications Inc. (SIC) against the federal government over its request that SIC pay back tens of millions of dollars in subsidies received from aid pools. The court found, as the U.S. Court of Federal Claims previously had, that the tribunal lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the case.
The opinion explained that SIC was formed in the mid-1990s to provide telecommunications services to native Hawaiians. In 1997, SIC received a federal designation to do so and served rural communities in Hawaii by leasing capacity on an existing undersea cable. For certain leasing expenses, SIC sought and received millions of dollars in subsidies from the National Exchange Carrier Association (NECA) pool, a fund intended to support providers in high-cost areas.