Tillage

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

CHARLES TILLAGE, et al., Case No. 17-cv-06477-VC

Plaintiffs, ORDER DENYING DEFENDANTS' v. MOTION FOR JUDGMENT ON THE

PLEADINGS

COMCAST CORPORATION, et al., Re: Dkt. No. 115 Defendants.

Tillage and his co-plaintiffs signed up for one- or two-year fixed-price contracts for cable service from Comcast. They allege that Comcast charged them fees that were concealed at the time they signed up, and then increased those fees in violation of the fixed-price contract. Based on this conduct, the plaintiffs assert claims under California’s false advertising law and related consumer protection laws. Comcast has filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings, contending that the claims are preempted by federal law. They are not preempted, and it’s not a close question. The Cable Act and its regulations preempt state or local laws that restrict rates or prohibit the types of alterations to cable packages that are blessed by the FCC, but they do not permit cable companies to lie about the rates they charge, and they do not shield those companies from generally applicable police power regulations…