MCC Iowa v. Iowa City, No. 16-3696 (8th Cir. 2018)
Annotate this CaseThe Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment to the City and ImOn in an action brought by Mediacom, seeking declarations that certain resolutions were void and that the City could not permit a potential cable provider to construct a "cable system" without acquiring a cable franchise. Mediacom also alleged contract violations, tortious interference, civil conspiracy, and Equal Protection violations, all depending on whether ImOn could lawfully build a fiber-optic network without a franchise. The court held that ImOn's fiber-optic network was not a "cable system," because ImOn has not provided or proposed to provide cable services. Therefore, the agreements at issue authorizing ImOn's construction of a fiber-optic network were not a de facto cable franchise. In regard to Mediacom's equal protection claim, the court also held that the district court properly concluded that ImOn and Mediacom were not similarly situated because only Mediacom was a cable provider in the City, and the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Mediacom's motion for discovery.
Court Description: Benton, Author, with Gruender, Circuit Judge, and Tunheim, District Judge] Civil case - Communications Act. Defendant ImOn's fiber-optic network is not a "cable system," because ImOn has not provided or proposed to provide cable services; the agreements between the City and ImOn authorizing construction of the network are not a de facto cable franchise, and the district court did not err in granting summary judgment for the defendants on plaintiff's suit seeking a declaration that the City's resolutions were void, as well as its allegations of breach of contract, tortious interference, civil conspiracy and Equal Protection violations.
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