FCC Opposes Blanca Telephone Petition to Stop Agency USF Debt Collection Effort
The FCC opposed Blanca Telephone's court petition to halt the commission's effort to collect a debt resulting from $6.7 million in USF overpayments the agency said the company received. The FCC said it demanded repayment in full from Blanca June…
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2; the firm filed an application for review by the commission June 16; the agency informed the telco it would take no further action to collect the debt while that application is pending; and the company filed a petition for a writ of prohibition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. "Remedies under the All Writs Act, such as prohibition, are reserved for extraordinary cases and, in addition to other requirements, are available only where the petitioner lacks any other means to obtain the relief sought," said the FCC opposition posted Wednesday. "Here, when the agency acts on Blanca’s pending application for review, if Blanca remains aggrieved, it can seek judicial review pursuant to ... the Communications Act and the Hobbs Act. It is well established that the availability of such statutory review procedures are adequate alternative remedies. The petition is therefore baseless." The case is: In re Blanca Telephone Company, No. 16-1216. A Blanca representative said the company would file a court response.