Circuit City wants out of digital TV fines

CIRCUIT CITY WANTS OUT OF DIGITAL TV FINES
The Federal Communications Commission last month fined Circuit City, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Best Buy Co., and other retailers a combined $3.9 million for failing to properly label that analog-only televisions will need to be retrofitted after the switch to digital TV. But Circuit City said on Tuesday that the FCC should drop those fines because the FCC lacks jurisdiction to enforce the rule to keep consumers from buying TV equipment that won't work without a converter box after the digital switch by Feb. 17, 2009. Circuit City also said public comment was never heard on the FCC regulation that requires retailers to display or affix "consumer alert" labels to analog-only TV equipment -- including TVs, DVDs, videocassette recorders and digital video recorders -- that says it will not receive signals after the nationwide digital transition without a special converter box. The company said that it tried to comply with the rule and its questioned actions were never "willful or repeated."
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fiw-fcc14-2008may14,0,7021729.story