(The Center Square) – A two-plus year lawsuit against a Maine law pertaining to cable companies won’t be heard by the nation’s highest court.
The Office of the Maine Attorney General announced the U.S. Supreme Court has decided it will not hear the case Spectrum Northeast LLC v. Frey. The litigation surrounds the state’s first-in-the-nation consumer protection law that mandates cable companies prorate a customer’s last month of service upon cancellation.
“Just as it would be unacceptable for a restaurant to charge for undelivered food or Amazon to charge for an undelivered package, large cable companies should not be permitted to charge for cable that is not provided,” Attorney General Aaron Frey said in a release. “I’m thrilled that consumers will no longer have to pay after they cancel their subscriptions. I strongly encourage those who didn’t get what they were owed going back to September 2020 to request their refunds.”
According to court documents, the U.S. Supreme Court wrote that the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals “correctly rejected the claim” made by Spectrum that the state’s Pro Rata law is preempted by the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984, which prohibits states from regulating cable rates.
The court ruled, however, that even though the Cable Act prohibits regulation of rates for cable service that is does not prevent a state from requiring cable companies to provide rebates once a customer terminates service.
According to court documents, the court ruled there is “no meaningful split of authority” as to whether the Cable Act would preempt pro-rata rebate laws. Also, the court said the 1st Circuit decision rests on the plain meaning of the Cable Act.
Additionally, the court ruled, according to court documents that the state’s Pro Rata laws only applies after “the provision of cable service” has ended.
Under Maine’s consumer protection law, which went into effect in September 2020, the law was delayed upon the lawsuit being filed against the attorney general.
According to the release, beginning in February 2022, the cable giant has complied with the state’s law by automatically prorating a customer’s final bill after cancellation. The company has also agreed to prorate the final month of service for customers who canceled between September 2020 and January 2022 for those cables to request the prorate the final bill.
