TAMPA, Fla. — The United States government has called on the U.S. Court of Federal Claims to throw out a lawsuit from Ligado Networks seeking $40 billion over the company’s derailed wireless network plans.
Ligado filed the lawsuit against the United States and a group of federal agencies in October, claiming they roadblocked efforts to deploy assigned L-band satellite spectrum terrestrially so the Department of Defense could use the frequencies instead.
The Federal Communications Commission gave Ligado permission in 2020 to roll out a 5G network with the frequencies. However, the plans ground to a halt two years later after what the company said was a misinformation campaign over the potential for GPS interference.
In addition to the United States, Ligado is suing the Department of Defense (DoD), the Department of Commerce (DoC), and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).
Attorneys for the government filed a motion Jan. 25 to dismiss the lawsuit, saying the court lacks jurisdiction because the Communications Act requires an exclusive administrative and judicial review framework for such claims arising out of FCC licensing decisions.
Even if the U.S. Court of Federal Claims had jurisdiction, the attorneys said Ligado could not claim these property rights for an intangible license.
“Indeed, no court has held that an FCC license is property for takings purposes,” they wrote in a Jan. 25 motion to dismiss the lawsuit, “and the Court with primary jurisdiction over FCC licensing matters — the D.C. Circuit — has held that FCC licenses are not property under the Takings Clause.”
A so-called takings claim — for when the government seizes private property for public use — also requires the government action at issue to be authorized and lawful, the motion continues, whereas Ligado alleges its FCC license was blocked unlawfully.
Spectrum accusation
In the Oct. 12 lawsuit, Ligado…
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