Verizon v. FCC: On To Plan C?

The good news for Verizon is that the US Court of Appeals dismissal of its initial network neutrality appeal does not foreclose it from seeking judicial review again once the Federal Communications Commission's Open Internet order finally makes it to the Federal Register. The bad news for Verizon is that, when the opportunity to file does arise, there will be no way to guarantee that the case lands in the DC Circuit. If other parties file their petitions for review in other Circuits, a “judicial lottery” system kicks in. While it would seem to make sense for the DC Circuit to hear the next round of network neutrality appeals – that Court, after all, is very familiar with administrative law issues generally and issues arising from the Communications Act in particular – at this point it’s anybody’s guess where the case will ultimately land.