Rhode Island Superior Court Dismisses Cox BEAD Complaint

The Rhode Island Superior Court dismissed Cox Communications' complaint about the state's implementation of NTIA's broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program (see 2409240026). Congress "stripped state courts of jurisdiction" on BEAD through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the court determined. The "plain language of the statute is unmistakably mandatory," wrote Associate Justice Brian Stern in last week's decision, noting the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has exclusive jurisdiction. Cox "attempts to thread the needle between the approvals of the initial proposal and the final proposal by the Assistant Secretary, hoping to find a brief window where this court possesses subject-matter jurisdiction," Stern wrote, "however, no such window exists." In a footnote, the court also said the allegations in Cox's complaint "give this court pause and, assuming the allegations in the complaint are true ... these concerns would mean that funds intended to provide broadband infrastructure to unserved and underserved areas are instead going to be used in areas that already have sufficient broadband infrastructure, and no challenge to that plan was possible."