Duke, AT&T Move to Dismiss Their Challenges to FCC’s Pole Attachment Order

Duke Energy and AT&T are requesting that their consolidated pole attachment appeals against the FCC be voluntarily dismissed under Rule 42(b) of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, said their unopposed joint motion Friday (dockets 22-2220 and 23-1010) at the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Oral argument is scheduled for Jan. 24 (see 2312040040), but Duke and AT&T have reached a settlement that resolves their dispute and they have agreed to jointly dismiss their respective challenges to the FCC’s November 2022 order “at issue in these consolidated appeals,” said the motion. The agency has “represented” that it doesn’t oppose the motion, it said. The order determined that AT&T should pay a pole attachment rate that’s lower than that of its joint use agreement with Duke but higher than the rate paid by other companies that attach their lines to Duke’s poles (see 2309050005). It also ordered Duke to refund AT&T the difference between the rate in the joint use agreement and what the commission found to be the “just and reasonable rate” for the period covered by a three-year statute of limitations.