The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals returned a U.S. Chamber of Commerce challenge of Maryland’s digital ad tax to a state district court. In an opinion Wednesday (case 22-2275), the appeals court agreed with the U.S. District Court in Baltimore (case 21-cv-00410) that the Tax Injunction Act (TIA) prevents federal courts from reviewing the tax. However, it disagreed that a decision on the constitutionality of a related pass-through ban was moot.

Consumers' Research asked the U.S. Supreme Court to grant its cert petition challenging the FCC's method for determining the USF quarterly contribution factor, saying the case presents "an excellent vehicle for addressing the contours of nondelegation whose abuses highlight the dangers of delegated and politically unaccountable power." Docketed Friday (docket 23-743), the petition asked the court to review a Dec. 14 decision by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholding the Q4 2022 contribution factor (see 2312140058). Responses to the new petition are due Feb. 8.

Here are Communications Litigation Today's top stories from last week, in case you missed them. Each can be found by searching on its title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.

The personally identifiable information (PII) of more than 1.3 million individuals was compromised due to a “critical flaw” in Citrix’s NetScaler software, alleged a class action Monday (docket 0:24-cv-60048) in U.S. District Court for Southern Florida in Fort Lauderdale. The suit names Citrix, its customer LoanCare and LoanCare parent company Fidelity National Financial (FNF).

Conditional transfer order 23 (CTO-23) in In Re: Moveit Customer Data Security Breach Litigation (docket 3083) is vacated, said a clerk’s notice Monday before the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, saying two actions versus Pension Benefit Information in the CTO were remanded to Florida state court.

The plaintiffs in the multidistrict litigation arising from T-Mobile’s 2022 data breach are to file their “master consolidated complaint” by Feb. 22, said an order signed Monday (docket 4:23-MD-03073) by U.S. District Judge Brian Wimes for Western Missouri in Kansas City. The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation assigned Wimes the MDL in a June 2 order (see 2306050001).

Three Comcast Xfinity customers in Florida sued the company Monday under the Cable Act for not protecting their personally identifiable information (PII) in the October “Citrix Bleed” data breach, said their class action Monday (docket 1:24-cv-20064) in U.S. District Court for Southern Florida in Fort Lauderdale.

Milwaukee agrees with Verizon that the crowds expected in the Deer District for the 2024 Republican National Convention in July “will cause significant wireless service gaps and serious public safety risks,” said Verizon’s reply brief Monday (docket 2:23-cv-01581) in U.S. District Court for Eastern Wisconsin in Milwaukee. The brief is in support of Verizon's motion for a preliminary injunction to force the city’s approval of permits for the installation of poles and small cells outside the Fiserv Forum (see 2312050022).

NetChoice hailed Tuesday’s decision in Columbus, Ohio, granting its motion for a temporary restraining order to block Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (R) from enforcing the state’s Parental Notification by Social Media Operators Act when it takes effect Jan. 15 (see 2401050055).

Communications Litigation Today is tracking the below lawsuits involving appeals of FCC actions. Cases marked with an * were terminated since the last update. Cases in bold are new since the last update.