7th Circuit Reverses Wisconsin Bell E-rate Ruling, Remands for Trial

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and remanded for trial a lower court's ruling that Wisconsin Bell charged schools and libraries "more than was allowed" under the FCC's E-rate program. Relator Todd Heath initially filed the challenged Wisconsin Bell under the False Claims Act, showing "enough specific evidence of discriminatory pricing to allow a reasonable jury to find that Wisconsin Bell ... charged specific schools and libraries more than it charged similarly situated customers," the appellate court said in a Wednesday opinion in case 22-1515.