USCA Case #20-1047 Document #1854813 Filed: 08/03/2020 Page 1 of 103 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT NALINI KAPUR, RISHI KAPUR, AND RAVI KAPUR, Appellants, v. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION, Appellee. On Appeal from Orders of the Federal Communications Commission BRIEF FOR APPELLEE Ashley S. Boizelle Acting General Counsel Jacob M. Lewis Associate General Counsel Sarah E. Citrin Counsel FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 445 12th Street SW Washington, DC 20554 (202) 418-1740 [email protected] USCA Case #20-1047 Document #1854813 Filed: 08/03/2020 Page 2 of 103 TABLE OF AUTHORITIES* Cases Page(s) Agape Church, Inc. v. FCC, 738 F.3d 397 (D.C. Cir. 2013) ...................... 5 Am. Airways Charters, Inc. v. Regan, 746 F.2d 865 (D.C. Cir. 1984) .... 24 Am. Trucking Ass’ns, Inc. v. Fed. Motor Carrier Safety Admin., 724 F.3d 243 (D.C. Cir. 2013) ............................................................. 23 Arpaio v. Obama, 797 F.3d 11 (D.C. Cir. 2015) ...................................... 26 Azar v. Allina Health Servs., 139 S. Ct. 1804 (2019) ........................ 55–56 Bartholdi Cable Co. v. FCC, 114 F.3d 274 (D.C. Cir. 1997) ................... 38 *BDPCS, Inc. v. FCC, 351 F.3d 1177 (D.C. Cir. 2003) ..................... 33, 48 Boyland v. USDA, 913 F.3d 117 (D.C. Cir. 2019) ................................... 19 C.I.R. v. Simmons, 646 F.3d 6 (D.C. Cir. 2011) ...................................... 45 *Cherry v. FCC, 641 F.3d 494 (D.C. Cir. 2011) .......................... 22, 24, 27 *Citizens for Jazz on WRVR, Inc. v. FCC, 775 F.2d 392 (D.C. Cir. 1985) ......................................................................... 4, 33, 34 Comcast Corp. v. FCC, 526 F.3d 763 (D.C. Cir. 2008) ............................ 56 FCC v. WOKO, Inc., 329 U.S. 223 (1946) ................................................ 41 *Franchise Tax Bd. v. Alcan Aluminium, 493 U.S. 331 (1990) .. 23, 24, 25 Friends of Animals v. Jewell, 828 F.3d 989 (D.C. Cir. 2016) ................. 22 *Gencom, Inc. v. FCC, 832 F.2d 171 (D.C. Cir. 1987) ...... 4, 19, 33–34, 35, 50, 62 * Authorities upon which we chiefly rely are marked with asterisks. (i) USCA Case #20-1047 Document #1854813 Filed: 08/03/2020 Page 3 of 103 Gilardi v. U.S. Dep’t of Health and Human Servs., 733 F.3d 1208 (D.C. Cir. 2013), vacated on other grounds, 573 U.S. 956 (2014) 25–26 Gordon v. Virtumundo, Inc., 575 F.3d 1040 (9th Cir. 2009) .................. 25 Iacopi v. FCC, 451 F.2d 1142 (9th Cir. 1971) ................................... 26–27 Kapur v. Trumbly, 2015 WL 2329294 (Cal. Ct. App. May 14, 2015) ....... 6 LaRoque v. Holder, 650 F.3d 777 (D.C. Cir. 2011) ................................. 23 NTCH, Inc. v. FCC, 950 F.3d 871 (D.C. Cir. 2020) ................................ 38 Orgain v. City of Salisbury, 521 F. Supp. 2d 465 (D. Md. 2007) ............ 25 *Rainbow/PUSH Coal. v. FCC, 330 F.3d 539 (D.C. Cir. 2003) ............. 30 *Rainbow/PUSH Coal. v. FCC, 396 F.3d 1235 (D.C. Cir. 2005) ..... 30, 31 Rural Cellular Ass’n v. FCC, 588 F.3d 1095 (D.C. Cir. 2009) .......... 50, 59 United States v. Omnicare, Inc., No. 07 C 05777, 2013 WL 3819671 (N.D. Ill. 2013) ...................................................................... 25 Vernal Enters., Inc. v. FCC, 355 F.3d 650 (D.C. Cir. 2004) .................... 56 *Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490 (1975) .............................................. 22, 23 Statutes and Regulations 5 U.S.C. § 706(a)(2) ................................................................................. 48 47 U.S.C. § 151 et seq. ............................................................................... 2 47 U.S.C. § 155(c)(4) ................................................................................ 17 47 U.S.C. § 301 .......................................................................................... 3 47 U.S.C. § 307(c)(1) .................................................................................. 9 47 U.S.C. § 307(c)(3) .................................................................................. 9 47 U.S.C. § 309(a) ...................................................................................... 3 (ii) USCA Case #20-1047 Document #1854813 Filed: 08/03/2020 Page 4 of 103 47 U.S.C. § 309(d) .................................................................................... 33 47 U.S.C. § 309(d)(1) ................................................................................. 4 47 U.S.C. § 309(k)(1)(A) ............................................................................ 3 47 U.S.C. § 402(b)(2).................................................................................. 2 47 U.S.C. § 402(b)(3).................................................................................. 2 47 U.S.C. § 402(b)(6).................................................................................. 2 47 U.S.C. § 402(c) ...................................................................................... 2 47 U.S.C. § 405 ........................................................................................ 59 47 U.S.C. § 405(a)(2)................................................................................ 29 47 C.F.R. § 1.17(a)(1) ................................................................... 39, 40–41 47 C.F.R. § 1.65 ................................................................................. 10, 59 47 C.F.R. § 1.65(a) ............................................................................. 53, 60 47 C.F.R. § 1.106(b)(2) ............................................................................. 44 47 C.F.R. § 1.106(b)(ii)............................................................................. 46 47 C.F.R. § 1.106(c) ................................................................................. 14 47 C.F.R. § 1.106(c)(1) ............................................................................. 44 47 C.F.R. § 1.106(c)(2) ....................................................................... 44, 45 47 C.F.R. § 1.115(a) ........................................................................... 17, 32 47 C.F.R. § 73.3555 note 2 ...................................................................... 43 Administrative Decisions Amendment of Section 1.17 of the Commission’s Rules Concerning Truthful Statements to the Commission, 18 FCC Rcd 4016 (2003) ............................................................................................. 39, 42 (iii) USCA Case #20-1047 Document #1854813 Filed: 08/03/2020 Page 5 of 103 Coosa Valley News, Inc., 23 FCC Rcd 9146 (Media Bur. 2008) .............. 56 Dennis J. Kelly, Esq., 23 FCC Rcd 4786 (Media Bur. 2008) ................... 46 Fort Collins Broad. Co., 38 F.C.C.2d 707 (1972) .................................... 35 Fox River Broadcasting, Inc., 93 F.C.C.2d 127 (1983)............................ 49 Greater Muskegon Broadcasters, Inc., 11 FCC Rcd 15464 (1996) ... 51, 52, 53, 54, 57 Incentive Auction Closing and Channel Reassignment Public Notice, 32 FCC Rcd 2786 (Media and Wireless Telecomms. Burs. 2017) .......................................................................................... 62 Investigation into the Political File Practices of OTA Broadcasting (SFO), LLC, 32 FCC Rcd 795 (Media Bur. 2017) ............................... 57 Michael Lazarus, Esq., 26 FCC Rcd 5966 (Media Bur. 2011) ................ 61 Northern Television, Inc., 91 F.C.C.2d 305 (1982) ................................. 61 Patrick Henry, 69 F.C.C.2d 1305 (1978) ........................................... 35, 37 Policy Regarding Character Qualifications in Broadcast Licensing, 102 F.C.C.2d 1179 (1986) ............................................................. 41, 57 R & L Broadcasters, 7 FCC Rcd 5551 (1992) .......................................... 61 Wireless Properties of Virginia, Inc. Assignor and Nextel Spectrum Acquisition Corp. Assignee, 23 FCC Rcd 7466 (Wireless Telecomms. Bur. 2008) ....................................................................... 46 Treatises Antonin Scalia & Bryan A. Garner, Reading Law (2012) ...................... 56 Other Authorities 1/8/20 KAXT, LLC, Certificate of Cancellation, available at https://businesssearch.sos.ca.gov/Document/RetrievePDF?Id=20 0913510106-27631798 ........................................................................ 28 (iv) USCA Case #20-1047 Document #1854813 Filed: 08/03/2020 Page 6 of 103 1/8/20 KAXT, LLC, Certificate of Dissolution, available at https://businesssearch.sos.ca.gov/Document/RetrievePDF?Id=20 0913510106-27631797 ........................................................................ 28 8/20/09 Broadland Properties, Inc./KAXT, LLC, Application for Consent to Assignment, https://publicfiles.fcc.gov/api/service/tv/application/ 1328338.html (last visited Aug. 2, 2020) .............................................. 5 D.C. Cir. R. 28(a)(7) ................................................................................. 24 FCC Form 314 ......................................................................................... 43 FCC Form 315 ......................................................................................... 54 (v) USCA Case #20-1047 Document #1854813 Filed: 08/03/2020 Page 7 of 103 CERTIFICATE AS TO PARTIES, RULINGS, AND RELATED CASES (A) Parties and Amici. All parties, intervenors, and amici appearing in this Court are listed in the Appellants’ Principal Brief. (B) Rulings under Review. The appeals challenge the following