The plaintiffs in a legal challenge of the Federal Communications Commission's recent ruling requiring local action on franchise applications within 90 days also filed an action with the U.S. Court of Appeals to prevent enforcement of that order until the court can hear that challenge.
The so-called 90-day shot clock will cause irreparable harm to local governments because it pre-empts important local laws, the plaintiffs argued in the stay motion. It was filed Wednesday with the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Sixth Circuit.
The plaintiffs include the Alliance for Communications Democracy, the Alliance for Community Media, the National Association of Counties, the National League of Cities, the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors and the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
The same parties filed a lawsuit in April stating that the FCC order is "arbitrary and capricious" and an abuse of discretion, unsupported by law, by the federal regulators. That suit is pending.
