Practice Areas

Administrative Law
Antitrust
Appellate
Class Action
Commercial Litigation
Constitution — First Amendment
Constitution — Second Amendment
Constitution — Fifth Amendment
Constitution — Civil Rights
Constitution — Commerce Clause
Constitution — Separation of Powers
Constitution — Voting Rights
Election Law
Employment Litigation
Government Contracts
Healthcare Litigation
Intellectual Property
Qui Tam
Real Estate Litigation
State Representation
Telecommunication Litigation
Trial Practice
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals
Telecommunication Litigation

Telecommunication Litigation

Cooper & Kirk has represented major telecommunications companies and trade associations, including those operating in the internet, satellite, wireless, and broadband fields, in a variety of disputes. Our work has involved representation of both clients seeking to challenge Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rulings, policies, and licensing decisions, and clients seeking to defend the validity of FCC actions. We also represented satellite companies in a constitutional challenge to federal tele-communications legislation—litigation described at the time as “the most important court case in industry history” (MULTICHANNEL NEWS)—and have advised other clients on the constitutionality of other landmark telecommunications legislation. Simply stated, Cooper & Kirk’s in-depth knowledge concerning the intricacies of constitutional law, administrative law, and statutory interpretation, and our decades of litigation experience in these fields, allow us to help clients navigate their way through complex, high-stakes telecommunications law questions and disputes.

Issue
Challenge to the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act
Level of Court
US Court of Appeals - Fourth Circuit

Overview We represented the SBCA and member companies Echostar Communications Corp. and DirecTV, Inc. in a First Amendment challenge to the must-carry provisions of the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act of 1999, requiring satellite television carriers to carry all television stations in a local market if they choose to carry one station in that market.

Issue
Validity of FCC Rulings
Level of Court
US Court of Appeals - DC Circuit

Overview We represented Covad Communications Company (“Covad”) as an intervenor-defendant seeking to defend the validity of FCC rulings challenged by the nation’s largest local telephone companies and their trade association. We were engaged shortly after the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the plaintiffs’ challenge. The decision raises a number of important questions regarding the FCC’s discretion to issue rules implementing the requirements of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

Issue
FCC Revocation of Nextwave's wireless licenses
Level of Court
United States Supreme Court

Overview We filed an amicus brief on behalf of Urban Communications, a minority-owned telecommunications company. At issue in the case was the validity of the FCC’s revocation of Nextwave’s spectrum licenses for wireless services, which was then valued at over $4 billion. Nextwave had failed to make timely payments to the government and filed for bankruptcy. Although the Bankruptcy Code prohibits the government from revoking regulatory licenses “solely because of nonpayment,” the FCC claimed its revocation was appropriate because it had non-pecuniary regulatory interests at stake. Our brief demonstrated that, in fact, its monetary interests animated the government’s course of conduct at every phase of the litigation. Nextwave prevailed before the Court.

Issue
Telecommunications Act of 1996

Overview We represented Verizon in its assessment of the constitutionality of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and several related matters.