During pendency of state court action brought by township Board of Trustees and township, which had been removed to federal court by company that was hired by wireless provider to construct cellular tower on school district property, and thereafter remanded back to state court, seeking a declaratory judgment that company was required to adhere to township’s zoning regulations, and after negotiations towards a mutually agreeable resolution pursuant to joint stay agreement proved unsuccessful, company brought action in federal court against township and township’s Board of Trustees, alleging claims including violations of the Telecommunications Act (TCA).
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio granted plaintiff’s motion for preliminary injunction to enjoin defendants from preventing completion and deployment of cell tower, and denied defendants’ motion to stay injunction. Parties cross-appealed, and the Court of Appeals granted defendants’ motion for stay pending outcome of appeal.
The Court of Appeals held that:
- As a matter of first impression, township’s determination to file a state court lawsuit regarding purported immunity status from zoning regulations under Ohio law was not a “final action,” precluding TCA relief;
- Plaintiff failed to bring claims within 30 days of purported final action, as would support denial of preliminary injunction;
- There was no evidence that the parties intended to toll any statute of limitations when entering into joint stay agreement;
- Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) ruling that clarified the application of specific time limits contained in TCA did not support application of equitable principles to read an implicit intention to toll 30-day deadline into parties’ joint stay agreement;
- Possibility that company could lose provider’s trust absent issuance of preliminary injunction was too speculative and theoretical to constitute irreparable harm; and
- Economic loss was not irreparable harm that could support issuance of preliminary injunction.