TCG Detroit v. Dearborn

CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedMarch 7, 2000
Docket98-2035
StatusPublished

This text of TCG Detroit v. Dearborn (TCG Detroit v. Dearborn) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
TCG Detroit v. Dearborn, (6th Cir. 2000).

Opinion

RECOMMENDED FOR FULL-TEXT PUBLICATION 16 TCG Detroit v. City Nos. 98-2034/2035 Pursuant to Sixth Circuit Rule 206 of Dearborn, et al. ELECTRONIC CITATION: 2000 FED App. 0081P (6th Cir.) File Name: 00a0081p.06

______________________________________________ CONCURRING IN PART, DISSENTING IN PART UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS ______________________________________________ FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT _________________ RALPH B. GUY, JR., Circuit Judge, concurring in part and dissenting in part. I concur fully in the decision to affirm ; summary judgment in favor of Ameritech. If the court is Plaintiff-Appellant (98-2034),  correct that there is an implied private right of action, then I TCG DETROIT,

Plaintiff (98-2035),  concur in the court’s analysis with respect to the appeal of  TCG. However, for the reasons set forth in the concurrence  by Judge Noonan in Cablevision of Boston, Inc. v. Public Nos. 98-2034/2035

 Improvements Commission, 184 F.3d 88, 107-09 (1st Cir. > v.  1999), I believe there is no private right of action.

 Defendant-Appellee  CITY OF DEARBORN,

(98-2034),Third-Party  Plaintiff-Appellant   (98-2035),     AMERITECH MICHIGAN,

Third-Party  INCORPORATED,

Defendant-Appellee   (98-2035).  1 Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan at Detroit. No. 96-74338—Lawrence P. Zatkoff, Chief District Judge. Argued: November 5, 1999 Decided and Filed: March 7, 2000

1 2 TCG Detroit v. City Nos. 98-2034/2035 Nos. 98-2034/2035 TCG Detroit v. City 15 of Dearborn, et al. of Dearborn, et al.

Before: GUY and BOGGS, Circuit* Judges; and HOOD, constitutional revisions, although the law under which the District Judge. earlier contracts had been made was changed thereby as to future contracts. The district court found Public Acts 129 and _________________ 264 to be sufficiently similar to apply case law concerning Public Act 264 (governing utility companies) to Act 129 COUNSEL (governing Michigan Bell). It found support for this approach in the fact that the Michigan Attorney General, reasoning in ARGUED: David F. Graham, SIDLEY & AUSTIN, just this way, had advised the Village of Roseville in 1957 Chicago, Illinois, for TCG Detroit. William Malone, that its attempt to impose a franchise fee on Ameritech was MILLER & VAN EATON, Washington, D.C., for City of invalid given the latter’s existing state franchise. Dearborn. Joseph A. Fink, DICKINSON, WRIGHT, MOON, VAN DUSEN & FREEMAN, Lansing, Michigan, for The district court properly looked to Michigan law for the Ameritech Michigan, Inc. ON BRIEF: Charles H. Polzin, interpretation of the retroactivity of constitutional revisions to HILL, LEWIS, ADAMS, GOODRICH & TAIT, Birmingham, pre-existing contracts, and found no support for the City’s Michigan, Roderick S. Coy, CLARK HILL, Okemos, position. It correctly granted summary judgment to Michigan, Richard C. Marsh, CLARK HILL, Detroit, Ameritech. Michigan, for TCG Detroit. William Malone, MILLER & VAN EATON, Washington, D.C., Debra C. Walling, V Dearborn, Michigan, for City of Dearborn. Joseph A. Fink, John M. Dempsey, DICKINSON, WRIGHT, MOON, VAN For the foregoing reasons the judgments of the district court DUSEN & FREEMAN, Lansing, Michigan, Michael A. in each case are AFFIRMED. Holmes, Detroit, Michigan, for Ameritech Michigan, Inc. David E. Marvin, FRASER, TREBILCOCK, DAVIS & FOSTER, Lansing, Michigan, Gary L. Field, Harvey J. Messing, James A. Ault, LOOMIS, EWERT, PARSLEY, DAVIS & GOTTING, Lansing, Michigan, Michael J. Lichtenstein, SWIDLER, BERLIN, SHEREFF & FREIDMAN, Washington, D.C., David A. Handzo, Deanne E. Maynard, JENNER & BLOCK, Washington, D.C., for Amici Curiae. BOGGS, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which HOOD, D. J., joined. GUY, J. (p. 16), delivered a separate opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part.

* The Honorable Joseph M. Hood, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Kentucky, sitting by designation. 14 TCG Detroit v. City Nos. 98-2034/2035 Nos. 98-2034/2035 TCG Detroit v. City 3 of Dearborn, et al. of Dearborn, et al.

require its own consent to the establishment of a telephone _________________ system within the city: “Under this statute the sole authority of the municipality is the proper exercise of the police power, OPINION inherent in it, to protect the public . . . . It has no authority to _________________ impose other conditions.” Michigan Tel. Co. v. City of Benton, 121 Mich. 512, 80 N.W. 386 (1899). BOGGS, Circuit Judge. TCG Detroit (“TCG”), a telecommunications provider, appeals the district court’s The City argues that Act 129 was abrogated by revisions to grant of summary judgment to the City of Dearborn (“the the Michigan Constitution, adopted in 1908, of which Article City”) on the issue of whether the City’s requirement that VIII § 28 provided: TCG pay the City a certain franchise fee for the privilege of laying fibre-optic telecommunications cable within its limits, No person, partnership, association or corporation pursuant to a city ordinance, violates the Federal operating a public utility shall have the right to the use of Telecommunications Act of 1996 (“the Act”), 47 U.S.C. the highways, streets, alleys or other public places of any § 253. TCG had also alleged that the City’s requirement city, village or township for wires, poles, pipes, tracks or constituted a violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The district court conduits, without the consent of the duly constituted had earlier dismissed without prejudice TCG’s state claim, authorities of such city, village or township; nor to which had alleged a violation of the Michigan transact a local business therein without first obtaining a Telecommunications Act of 1995, invoking 28 U.S.C. franchise therefor from such city, village or township. § 1367(c). It adhered to that ruling, refusing to reinstate that The right of all cities, villages and townships to the claim “based on a concern of jury confusion over the differing reasonable control of their streets, alleys and public standards applicable to the federal and state claims.” TCG places is hereby reserved to such cities, villages and Detroit v. City of Dearborn, 977 F. Supp. 836, 841 (E.D. townships. Mich. 1997). This provision was retained in all substantial respects by the In the course of its dispute with TCG, the City also Michigan Constitution of 1963, Art. VII § 29. Ameritech demanded a franchise fee from an existing provider, contends that the revisions of 1908 do not apply retroactively. Ameritech Michigan (“Ameritech”), resulting in a suit which has been consolidated with TCG’s case. The City claimed There have been similar lawsuits involving utility that the Act gave it authority to charge such a fee. The district companies organized under Michigan Public Act 264, the court granted summary judgment to Ameritech on the grounds counterpart for utilities to Public Act 129 governing that the Michigan law under which Ameritech was telecommunications companies. In such suits, the Michigan incorporated, and its original franchise granted, prohibits the Supreme Court has taken a position similar to what is urged local imposition of franchise fees on providers who had by Ameritech in this case, and the district court applied the already been granted a franchise by the State of Michigan. Michigan Supreme Court’s reasoning here. See City of The City appeals. Lansing v. Michigan Power Co., 183 Mich. 400, 150 N.W. 250 (1914); Village of Constantine v. Michigan Gas & Elec. I Co., 296 Mich. 719, 296 N.W. 847 (1941).

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TCG Detroit v. Dearborn, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tcg-detroit-v-dearborn-ca6-2000.