EL SEGUNDO, Calif., May 26, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kirtland & Packard announces that the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today rejected the argument of AT&T Wireless (NYSE:T) (previously Cingular) that the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") has exclusive jurisdiction over claims by consumers that their wireless carrier breached their contract by failing to provide adequate service.
The Ninth Circuit, in the decision Shroyer v. New Cingular Wireless Services, et al., No. 08-55028, found that these claims, which wireless carriers have repeatedly argued fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the FCC, are "state law claims that do not tread on the FCC's exclusive power to regulate rates and market entry."
"This is another significant victory for consumers," said Michael Louis Kelly of Kirtland & Packard. "Wireless carriers, for years, have successfully argued to lower courts that consumers cannot bring these sorts of claims and that their lawsuits must be dismissed," Kelly said. "Now that the Ninth Circuit has clearly rejected that argument, it will be much easier for consumers who believe that their wireless carriers have breached their contract terms to bring a lawsuit and hold those wireless carriers accountable."
This is the second recent victory for wireless consumers obtained by Kirtland & Packard. Just late last year, the California Court of Appeals, in Morgan v. AT&T Wireless Services, Inc., reversed the trial court, and resoundingly arrested the 5 year long erosion of consumer rights in California, by putting the decision as to whether a corporation has deceived the public back in the hands of a jury.
MICHAEL LOUIS KELLY is recognized as one of the Leading 500 Plaintiff Lawyers in the United States. His numerous record-setting jury verdicts have dramatically expanded consumer protections and safeguards, and kept him at the top of the corporate wrongdoer's "most wanted" list. Mr. Kelly practices with the law firm of Kirtland & Packard LLP located in Los Angeles and San Francisco.