AT&T, Verizon Insist to Supreme Court FCC Fine Orders are Binding
The companies want a $100 million refund ‘at the very least.’ Oral arguments are scheduled for April 21.
WASHINGTON, April 13, 2026 – AT&T and Verizon insisted to the Supreme Court Friday that Federal Communications Commission forfeiture orders were binding demands to pay fines. That, they wrote, puts the agency’s enforcement process in violation of the Seventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The carriers are asking the high court to strike down the FCC’s fine authority, arguing the provision of the Communications Act that allows it is unconstitutional because it doesn’t honor the right to a jury trial. Justices will hear oral arguments in the case April 21.
The agency’s argument that its forfeiture orders are non-binding, and that companies can wait for a Justice Department collection action, which does include a jury, before paying was not convincing according to the carriers.
