TCA Applauds Court Ruling in Long-Running Lawsuit Over SB 5
Federal appeals court agrees SB 5 unconstitutional, urges speedy resolution of case
The Texas Cable Association (TCA) issued the following statement in connection with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling Friday that reverses a federal district court’s dismissal of TCA’s lawsuit over Senate Bill 5, the state’s law specifying how video franchises are issued.
TCA filed its federal lawsuit against the State of Texas challenging Senate Bill 5 (passed during the second special session of the 79th Legislature) on Sept. 8, 2005, in the U.S. District Court, Western Division of Texas, Austin division.
The following statement can be attributed to Kirsten Voinis, TCA spokesperson:
“The Texas Cable Association is extremely pleased that the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the dismissal of our lawsuit and affirmed our argument that the 2005 statute is unconstitutional because of its disparate treatment of video providers in Texas. Once this decision is implemented, video providers in our state – whether incumbent providers or new entrants into the marketplace – will be operating on a more level playing field, as they should have been all along. We hope the federal district court will move quickly to draft its order – as the appeals court encouraged in its opinion – and put to rest this lawsuit that was filed more than six years ago.”
Contact: Kirsten Voinis @(512) 922-7141 or kvoinis@txcable.com
- ## -
TCA (www.txcable.com) has been the primary trade organization for cable operators in Texas since 1960. Members include Allegiance Communications, Cable One, Charter Communications, Comcast, CommuniComm, Suddenlink Communications and Time Warner Cable. Follow TCA’s activities on Facebook (www.facebook.com/texascable) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/texascable).
