11th Circuit Rejects FCC's Note 11 Penalty Against Gray
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed that the FCC was right that Gray Television violated the agency's top-four rule with the broadcast chain's purchase in 2020 of another broadcaster’s CBS network affiliation in the Anchorage market, but the…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
court on Friday vacated the $518,000 forfeiture penalty. In a docket 22-14274 opinion, the appellate court also remanded the proceeding back to the agency. Judges William Pryor, Andrew Brasher and Adalberto Jordan said the forfeiture penalty was wrongly based in part on an egregiousness finding that Gray wasn't given an opportunity to address. They said the forfeiture penalty was also arbitrary and capricious because the FCC didn't adequately explain its consideration of Gray’s good faith. In a concurring opinion joined by Pryor, Brasher said the FCC's Note 11 rule, barring affiliation swaps, may exceed the agency's authority. "Had this issue been properly raised, I very likely would have voted to vacate the forfeiture order in its entirety," they said.