Comcast of California I, Inc. v. City of Walnut Creek

ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

INTRODUCTION

In this action under the Cable Communications Policy Act, 47 U.S.C. 521, et seq., plaintiffs Comcast of California I, Inc., and Comcast of California/Massachusetts/Michigan/Utah, Inc., who hold expired cable franchises, move for a preliminary injunction to prevent defendant City of Walnut Creek from conditioning the issuance of construction permits for a system upgrade upon finalization of a renewal franchise agreement.

STATEMENT

1. Comcast’s Cable Franchises with Walnut Creek.

Plaintiffs are late-comers into a story that began in 1986. On February 18,1986, the City of Walnut Creek and United Artists Cablesystems of California entered into a fifteen-year cable-television agreement authorizing UACC to operate a cable-television system in Walnut Creek. The expiration date for this agreement was February 17, 2001. On June 28, 1988, the City entered into a separate agreement with Televents, with an expiration date of June 27, 2003.

Later, in 1999, AT & T Corp. acquired the two franchises when it merged with Tele-Communications, Inc., which had previously merged with both UACC and Tele-vents. Thereafter, the…