8th Circuit Denies Appeal in Iowa Cable Franchising Row
An 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel affirmed a lower court's tossing out an MVPD lawsuit against Iowa City, Iowa, and what the cable operator saw as a competitor, ImOn Communications. In the docket 16-3696 decision Wednesday, the St.…
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Louis-based court said Mediacom was conflating "proposes" and "intends" and that ImOn had never gone as far as proposing to provide cable service to Iowa City. Mediacom -- which has a franchise agreement with Iowa City -- sued the city and ImOn over whether the potential cable provider could build a cable system without having a cable franchise. The court also rejected Mediacom arguments Iowa City gave ImOn a de facto cable franchise that didn't comply with state and federal franchise requirements when it let ImOn build a fiber optic network and to provide voice and internet services. Ruling for the defendant appellees were Judges William Benton, Raymond Gruender and John Tunheim, with Benton writing the decision. Mediacom outside counsel didn't comment Thursday.