City of Glendale v. Marcus Cable Associates, LLC

INTRODUCTION

Defendant, appellant, and cross-respondent Marcus Cable Associates, LLC, doing business as Charter Communications, Inc. (Charter), appeals from orders granting summary adjudication in favor of plaintiff, respondent, and cross-appellant City of Glendale (Glendale), and Glendale appeals from an order granting summary adjudication in favor of Charter and from certain portions of a judgment in favor of Charter entered after trial. The disputes arise out of a cable television services system operated by Charter within Glendale and the free public, educational, and government-affairs (PEG) requirements in connection with such services.

We hold that federal law precluded Charter from obtaining a declaration of a right of offset against future franchise payments to Glendale for past overpayments of PEG fees to Glendale; Glendale did not breach any obligation in connection with its refusal to approve Charter’s request to realign channel numbers for PEG programming that was broadcast on Charter’s cable television system in Glendale; Charter had no further obligation to provide free video programming and cable modem services to Glendale; the trial court did not err in…