Qwest Corp. v. Minn. Pub. Util. Comm'n, No. 11-2590 (8th Cir. 2012)
Annotate this CaseThe Minnesota Public Utilities Commission entered an order requiring Qwest Corporation, a successor Bell operating company, to submit for review and approval a price list and supporting rationale for certain telecommunication network facilities Qwest was required to provide to its Minnesota competitors under 47 U.S.C. 271. Qwest sought judicial review and declaratory relief in the district court, arguing the Commission's order was preempted by the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The district court concluded federal law and regulations did not preempt the Commission's order. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed, holding (1) the Commission's order impermissibly intruded on federal authority to regulate rates for elements required under section 271 and interfered with the purpose and objectives of Congress and the FCC; and (2) therefore, the order was preempted by the Act and the FCC's implementing regulations and rulings.
Court Description: Civil case - Telecommunications. Under the Telecommunications Act of 1996, state commissions may not impose Section 271 pricing requirements under the auspices of state law, and the congressional silence as to specific method of setting rates within Section 271 does not demonstrate that Congress intended to preserve state-law authority to set rates for network elements first required as part of Section 271; the Public Utilities Commission's order impermissibly intrudes on federal authority to regulate rates for elements under Section 271,and its order is preempted by the Act and the FCC's implementing regulations and rulings.
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