May 25, 2000
Dow Jones Newswires
Appeals Court Rules In FCC's Favor On
NextWave Licenses
Dow Jones Newswires
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Thursday afternoon overturned a bankruptcy court order that nullified a
Federal Communications Commission public notice revoking NextWave
Personal Communications Inc.'s wireless radio spectrum licenses.
The appellate court ruled that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in White Plains,
N.Y., overstepped its authority when it nullified the FCC's notice and
enforced the U.S. Bankruptcy Code's automatic stay provisions preventing
the transfer of NextWave's 63 C-Block wireless licenses.
"In short, notwithstanding the automatic stay provision, the bankruptcy court
lacks jurisdiction to decide whether the FCC's regulatory decision is a proper
exercise of direction, or to decide whether it is provident and in the public
interest," the order said.
As reported, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Adlai Hardin on Jan. 31 nullified the
FCC's Jan. 12 public statement that it had canceled NextWave's licenses in
January 1999 because NextWave failed to make required payments.
The FCC had hoped to resell the licenses at an auction scheduled for July 26.
The FCC appealed the decisions to the Second Circuit, which in turn issued
an order on Feb. 10 allowing the FCC to prepare for the July auction, which
the agency argued would take months.
However, the Second Circuit at that time didn't rule whether the FCC could
actually hold the auction. That issue was argued at hearings in late March
when the FCC asked the Second Circuit to rule that NextWave was in
default of its license payment obligations and that the licenses should be
re-auctioned. |
