Cox Cable San Diego, Inc. v. City of San Diego

Plaintiff Cox Cable San Diego, Inc. (Cox), claiming Government Code section 53066.1, popularly called the Cable Rate Deregulation Act (the act), preempts local rate regulation of cable television, brought a declaratory relief action against the defendant City of San Diego (City) to determine its rights and duties under the 1979 franchise agreement with City. The court granted Cox’s motion for summary judgment and entered judgment in its favor and against City. City appeals the judgment. We affirm.

I

We state rules that guide appellate review of grant of summary judgment where the facts are not in dispute. In such case, the issue is one of law, not fact, and the appellate court is free to draw its own conclusions of law from the undisputed facts. (Code Civ. Proc., § 437c; Jongepier v. Lopez (1983) 142 Cal.App.3d 535, 538 [ 191 Cal.Rptr. 535 ].) When the construction and application of a statute or the interpretation of a written instrument is involved (Dean W. Knight & Sons, Inc. v. State of California ex rel. Dept. of Transportation (1984) 155 Cal.App.3d 300, 305 [ 202 Cal.Rptr. 44 ]; King v. Larsen Realty, Inc. (1981) 121 Cal.App.3d 349, 356 [ 175 Cal.Rptr. 226 ]), the…