A federal appeals court said lawsuits challenging the amounts of ...
A federal appeals court said lawsuits challenging the amounts of billed federal universal service surcharges belong in the federal courts, not state. The 4th U.S. Appeals Court, Richmond, was ruling on a N.C. class-action lawsuit challenging the 53-cent monthly…
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universal service surcharge BellSouth billed to its N.C. customers. The suit (Case 03- 1316) claimed BellSouth violated state fair-trade laws by failing to disclose how it calculated its universal service surcharge and was charging customers an amount well above what it actually had to contribute to the fund. A lower federal court ruled that the suit should be heard in the N.C. state courts. BellSouth appealed, and the 4th Circuit agreed the remand to the state court was incorrect because the universal service charge is imposed under federal law, so actions seeking to change the charge present a federal case. The court went on to dismiss the lawsuit against BellSouth, saying the plaintiffs want the court to determine a reasonable rate for the universal service charge, something barred by the filed-rate doctrine. That doctrine says courts can’t substitute for regulators and prescribe rates.