U.S. Seeks Dismissal of Ligado L-Band Litigation
Ligado's takings complaint against the federal government (see 2310130003) mistakenly treats its L-band license as company property, contrary to legal precedent, DOJ said in a motion to dismiss last week (docket 23-1797). Moreover, DOJ said Ligado's complaint before the…
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U.S. Court of Federal Claims, asserting the government is unlawfully trying to preclude the company from using its FCC-granted L-band license, doesn't allege authorized government action that could give rise to takings liability. In addition, DOJ said the federal claims court lacks jurisdiction and Ligado hasn't identified authorized government action precluding the company from actually using its modified license. Ligado can't plead the license lost all value, as it still authorizes mobile satellite service use. Moreover, the company can't claim any economic loss is permanent, said the motion. Ligado emailed Friday that as it set out in its lawsuit, "government officials deliberately deprived [it] of its rightfully licensed property, and the government must be held accountable. This attack on an American business by the world’s most powerful institution is contrary to the rule of law and antithetical to the government’s years-long support for the deployment of 5G technology as a vital national priority. We worked diligently and in good faith with government agencies to find a fair resolution but were left with no choice but to pursue litigation to defend our interests."