Telesaurus VPC, LLC v. Power

888 F. Supp. 2d 963, 83 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 708, 2012 WL 3641395, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 120279
CourtDistrict Court, D. Arizona
DecidedAugust 24, 2012
DocketNo. CV 07-1311-PHX-NVW
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 888 F. Supp. 2d 963 (Telesaurus VPC, LLC v. Power) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Telesaurus VPC, LLC v. Power, 888 F. Supp. 2d 963, 83 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 708, 2012 WL 3641395, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 120279 (D. Ariz. 2012).

Opinion

ORDER

NEIL V. WAKE, District Judge.

Before the Court is RadioLink’s and Randy Power’s Motion for Rule 11 Sanctions (Doc. 226). For purposes of this order, RadioLink and Randy Power will be referred to collectively as “RadioLink,” unless the context requires otherwise. For the reasons discussed below, RadioLink’s motion will be granted.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Genesis of This Dispute

In 1998, Telesaurus (a Delaware limited liability company, whose name has since been changed to Verde Systems) and RadioLink (an Arizona corporation) both participated in an FCC auction for certain radio frequencies in the Phoenix area designated as VHF Public Coast, or “VPC,” frequencies. RadioLink withdrew from [965]*965the auction before it concluded, and Telesaurus won the auction. RadioLink, however, soon gained access to the frequencies anyway by allegedly “submit[ting] to the FCC a false application ... falsely characterizing [five of Telesaurus’s VPC frequencies] as frequencies in a certain pool of frequencies (very close in frequency range to the VPC Frequencies) that the FCC set aside for licensing at no charge, on a first-come, first-serve basis.” (Doc. 120 ¶ 15.) RadioLink denied that it submitted a false application, and instead claimed that a frequency coordinator — a non-governmental entity that works as a sort of middleman for frequency applications — mistakenly selected the frequencies for RadioLink to request. In any event, the FCC did not realize that the requested frequencies were already assigned to Telesaurus, and it granted RadioLink’s application. RadioLink began using Telesaurus’s frequencies allegedly “for a common carrier Wireless Telecommunication Service and Commercial Mobile Radio Service.” (Id. ¶ 16.) RadioLink disputed that it operated a commercial mobile radio service, instead arguing that it operated a private mobile radio service for customers such as fire departments and bus systems. The distinction between a commercial service and a private service matters because the FCC treats commercial services, but not private services, as “common carriers,” 47 U.S.C. § 332(c)(l)-(2), and RadioLink’s liability turns on whether or not it was a “common carrier.”

Telesaurus apparently paid no attention to its VPC frequencies for several years, and had no idea that RadioLink was using them until 2003 or 2004. Administrative proceedings with the FCC ensued. In 2005, the FCC modified RadioLink’s license to exclude Telesaurus’s five frequencies and include five replacement frequencies.

B. Initial Stages and Appeal

Telesaurus initiated this lawsuit in 2007, alleging that RadioLink had used Telesaurus’s frequencies without permission from 1999 through 2005, thus supposedly violating the common carrier provisions of the Federal Communications Act (FCA) and making RadioLink “liable to the person or persons injured thereby for the full amount of damages sustained in consequence of’ the violations. 47 U.S.C. § 206. Telesaurus also asserted state-law claims for conversion, interference with prospective economic advantage, and unjust enrichment. According to Telesaurus’s counsel at a later hearing, Telesaurus suffered no actual losses from RadioLink’s actions, but rather sought damages measured by RadioLink’s profits from using the VPC frequencies, similar to equitable disgorgement:

[The Court]: ... [I]n concrete terms, what are your client’s injuries and how do you credibly quantify them?
[Counsel for Telesaurus]: Well, Your Honor, I mean, we have a potential, as we said, unjust enrichment case on the state law side, potential lost profits that my clients could have had.
[The Court]: What’s your — I mean, it’s intuitively hard for me to see an unjust enrichment or loss of business. I thought your claim was about frequency interference that was degrading your client’s business operation. Is that wrong?
[Counsel for Telesaurus]: Yeah. I think it’s more of a utilizing frequencies that they own.
[The Court]: So it didn’t interfere with your — it didn’t interfere with your guy’s communications through any of its customers?
[Counsel for Telesaurus]: I don’t believe so. I think based on my understanding from my client, no, that wasn’t the issue.
[966]*966[The Court]: Okay. I guess I just assumed that when I read this that with two people using the same frequencies, that there’s going to be interference and your communications don’t go through and your customers get mad and they fire you. And none of that?
[Counsel for RadioLink]: Different case, Your Honor.
[The Court]: So this is just a matter of he made money and you want to get it from him?
[Counsel for Telesaurus]: He utilized something that was ours.
[Counsel for RadioLink]: They claimed they own the frequency. The FCC licensed the frequency to Radiolink. Radiolink uses the frequency. They say well, whatever money you made we’re entitled to it. We don’t agree with that theory, but that’s their theory.
[The Court]: This is changing my perception of this case. Because I thought your guy was suffering degradation of his own communications. But if it’s just a matter of, I have a monopoly, you are using this frequency and I want all your profits, that’s a different situation.
So your damage case doesn’t in any way — well, how would you come about your damage case?
[Counsel for Telesaurus]: I think we would want to find out what the — what type of profits that they had made based on their use of the frequency, things like that....

(Doc. 115 at 23-25.)

RadioLink eventually moved to dismiss the action, arguing that it was not a common carrier as a matter of law and therefore § 207 could not apply. RadioLink also argued that Telesaurus’s state-law claims were preempted by federal law.

The Court granted RadioLink’s motion, holding that the FCC’s designation of RadioLink as a private mobile radio service (through the “PMRS” notation on RadioLink’s license) was entitled to deference, and RadioLink was therefore not a common carrier as a matter of law. The Court also held that the FCA preempts the state-law claims. Given these outcomes, the Court concluded that “Telesaurus’s stumble is not one from which it can recover and return to the race. It would be fruitless to let Telesaurus try again by allowing further amendment of its complaint. The complaint and the action will be dismissed with prejudice.” (Doc. 91 at 9-10.)

On appeal, the Ninth Circuit upheld the state-law preemption conclusion, but not the common carrier conclusion, holding that the notation on RadioLink’s license was entitled to no deference, and in any event, common carrier status turns on the services a licensee actually provides to its customers, not on what its license says. Telesaurus VPC, LLC v. Power, 623 F.3d 998

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
888 F. Supp. 2d 963, 83 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 708, 2012 WL 3641395, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 120279, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/telesaurus-vpc-llc-v-power-azd-2012.