CTIA-The Wireless Ass'n v. City of Berkeley

158 F. Supp. 3d 897, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10332, 2016 WL 324283
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedJanuary 27, 2016
DocketCase No. 15-cv-02529-EMC
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 158 F. Supp. 3d 897 (CTIA-The Wireless Ass'n v. City of Berkeley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
CTIA-The Wireless Ass'n v. City of Berkeley, 158 F. Supp. 3d 897, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10332, 2016 WL 324283 (N.D. Cal. 2016).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISSOLVE PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

EDWARD M. CHEN, United States District Judge

Plaintiff CTIA-The Wireless Association has filed suit against Defendants the City of Berkeley and its City Manager (collectively, “City” or “Berkeley”), asserting that a Berkeley ordinance is preempted by federal law and further violates the First Amendment. Previously, CTIA moved for a preliminary injunction and, in September 2015, the Court granted CTIA relief, enjoining the ordinance “unless and until the sentence in the City notice regarding children safety is excised from the notice.” Docket No. 53 (Order at 35).

Subsequently, the City amended the ordinance to excise the language regarding children’s safety. Berkeley now moves for dissolution of the preliminary injunction. Having considered the parties’ briefs and accompanying submissions, as well as the oral argument of counsel, the Court hereby GRANTS Berkeley’s motion. The Court also DENIES CTIA’s request for a stay of dissolution pending appeal.

I. FACTUAL & PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In granting in part and denying in part CTIA’s motion for preliminary injunction, the Court found that Berkeley’s required [899]*899notice warning about risk to children was preempted, but that the remainder of the required notice was not preempted because it was consistent with the FFC’s statements and testing procedures. The Court noted the “disclosure, for the most part, simply refers consumers to the fact that there are FCC standards on RF energy exposure — standards which assume a minimum spacing of the cell phone away from the body — and advises consumers to refer to their manuals regarding maintenance of such spacing.” Docket No. 53 (Order at 14). The notice was consistent with the FCC’s requirement that cell phone manufacturers disclose to consumers information and advice about spacing between the body and a cell phone. See Docket No. 53 (Order at 14).

The Court also concluded the notice (after omission of the statement regarding children’s safety) did not violate the First Amendment, and noted the distinction drawn by cases between commercial and noncommerical speech, between restrictions on and compelled disclosures of commercial speech, and between compelling speech by the speaker and requiring disclosure of the government’s speech. It found the City ordinance in this case was subject to rational basis review, under both a general rational basis test (more particularly rational basis “with a bite”) and the particularized test under Zauderer v. Office of Disciplinary Counsel of the Supreme Court of Ohio, 471 U.S. 626, 105 S.Ct. 2265, 85 L.Ed.2d 652 (1985), and Milavetz Gallop & Milavetz, P.A. v. United States, 559 U.S. 229, 130 S.Ct. 1324, 176 L.Ed.2d 79 (2010). The Court found that Zauderer applied a species of the rational basis test and that Zauderer was not limited to disclosures designed to prevent consumer deception, but extended to matters of public health and safety. See Docket No. 53 (Order at 21-23). In applying Zauderer, the Court adopted the Sixth Circuit’s analysis of the phrase “’purely factual and uncontroversial’” as used in Zauderer, Docket No. 53 (Order at 18-19, 29-33) (quoting Zauderer, 471 U.S. at 651, 105 S.Ct. 2265), and concluded that the compelled disclosure must only be factual and accurate, not undisputed. See Docket No. 53 (Order at 30). The Court found the information mandated by the ordinance met the Zauderer test because the information that “the FCC has put limits on RF energy emission with respect to cell phones and that wearing a cell phone against the body (without any spacer) may lead the wearer to exceed the limits,” Docket No. 53 (Order at 31), was consistent with the FCC’s directive. It was factual and accurate because “the FCC established certain limits regarding SAR limits which have not been challenged as illegal. The mandated disclosure truthfully states that federal guidelines may be exceeded where spacing is not observed,” Docket No. 53 (Order at 32-33), and accurately advises users “to consult the manual wherein the FCC itself mandates disclosures about maintaining spacing.” Docket No. 53 (Order at 33). The Court found that any burden on cell phone retailers was minimal because there likely was no First Amendment right violated, and retailers were authorized by the ordinance to add their own language clarifying or countering the City’s message on the required notice. See Docket No. 53 (Order at 33-34). The Court thus issued a preliminary injunction against the portion of the ordinance regarding children’s safety, but denied CTIA’s motion as to the remainder of the notice language.

Thereafter, the City amended the ordinance to excise the language regarding children’s safety. Berkeley now moves for dissolution of the preliminary injunction.

II. DISCUSSION

Given the Court’s prior ruling, the fact that the ordinance has now been amended [900]*900should lead to dissolution of the preliminary injunction. However, CTIA has taken this opportunity to argue in its opposition brief that the. Court’s analysis in its preliminary injunction order was erroneous. While CTIA has not technically asked the Court to reconsider its prior order (nor would it sinc,e the Court ultimately issued CTIA’s requested.preliminary injunction), CTIA has asked the Court to stay dissolution of the preliminary injunction pending appeal because of the purported errors. Accordingly, evaluating CTIA’s request for a stay essentially requires this Court to retread ground already covered in its prior order.

A. Legal Standard'

In Hilton v. Braunskill, 481 U.S. 770, 107 S.Ct. 2113, 95 L.Ed.2d 724 (1987), the Supreme Court held that, in evaluating whether there should be a stay of an order pending appeal, a court should consider the following:

(1) whether the stay applicant has made a strong showing that he is likely to succeed on the merits; (2) whether the applicant will be irreparably injured absent a stay; (3) whether issuance of the stay will substantially injure the other parties interested in the proceeding; and (4) where the public interest lies.

Id. at 776, 107 S.Ct. 2113. “The ’irreparably-injured’ and ’likelihood-of-success’ factors are considered on ’a sliding scale...'" Stormans Inc. v. Selecky, 526 F.3d. 406, 412 (9th Cir.2008) (discussing applications for a stay pending appeal). That is, relief may be appropriate where the likelihood of success is such that serious questions going to the mérits are raised and the balance of hardships tips sharply in the stay applicant’s favor. Cf. Alliance For The Wild Rockies v. Cottrell, 632 F.3d 1127, 1131 (9th Cir.2011) (holding that the serious questions approach survives in the context of deciding whether a preliminary injunction should issue).

B. Likelihood of Success on the Merits or Serious Questions Going to the Merits

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Bluebook (online)
158 F. Supp. 3d 897, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10332, 2016 WL 324283, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ctia-the-wireless-assn-v-city-of-berkeley-cand-2016.