Qwest Corp. v. City of Des Moines, Iowa, No. 17-1257 (8th Cir. 2018)
Annotate this CasePlaintiffs, several wire-line telecommunications carriers, challenged the City's ordinance that charged plaintiffs for their use of public rights-of-way. The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's finding that the federal Telecommunications Act did not preempt the City's ordinance. The court remanded as to the issue of whether construction costs were management costs that the City could properly charge plaintiffs. In this case, the record was replete with dense reports and conflicting expert opinions and much turned on which experts to believe. Therefore, such decisions must be made in the first instance by the trier of fact.
Court Description: Kelly, Author, with Benton and Stras, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Federal Telecommunications Act. In this action by wire-line carriers challenging the City of Des Moines' adoption of a new fee schedule for right-of-way access, the City's ordinance is not preempted by the Telecommunications Act; it is not clear, however, whether the construction costs associated with the fees are management costs which the City can impose consistent with Iowa Code 480A, and the matter is remanded to the District Court to make additional findings of fact and to apply the legal standard set out in this opinion.
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