Appellate Court Upholds Denial of Streamer Franchise Fee Suit in Calif.

California's 2nd Appellate District Court upheld a lower court's dismissal of a Lancaster, California, suit seeking video service provider franchise fees from Netflix and Hulu (see 2112230003). In an opinion last week, a three-judge panel said the state's Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act lets local governments sue a franchise holder for unpaid franchise fees, but it doesn't authorize their seeking franchise fees from non-franchise holders. The state Public Utilities Commission and not Lancaster is responsible for enforcing issues related to the issuance of a video service franchise, the appellate court said. Deciding were Judges Luis Lavin, Lee Smalley Edmon and Anne Egerton, with Lavin writing the decision.