Court Clears Way for Byron Allen Bias Suit Against Charter

A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a California District Court ruling that Byron Allen's Entertainment Studios Networks (ESN) was not barred from suing Charter over its allegation the cable operator's decision not to carry his programming was racially motivated. The panel rejected Charter's motion to dismiss the suit and remanded it back to the US District Court for the Central District of California for further proceedings, which likely means a trial on its merits unless the parties settle. The court did not conclude Charter's conduct was racially motivated, only that it plausibly could have been and that the First Amendment did not bar the suit.