Indiana Business Lawyer Blog
The District Court for the Southern District of Indiana published an order on November 18, 2020 remanding the Class Action lawsuit against Netflix, Disney, Hulu, DirectTV and Dish to Marion County Superior Court.
The city of Fishers, Indianapolis, Evansville and Valparaiso filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of all units entitled to receive franchise fees to compel the streaming services pay franchise fees governed by Indiana’s Video Service Franchises Act in Ind. Code §8-1-34-4 “VSF Act.” The VSF Act requires companies that provide video service in Indiana to apply and receive certificates of franchise authority. The companies must pay a quarterly franchise fee to certain governmental units. The units include counties, municipalities and townships under Ind. Code §8-1-34-12. The streaming services (“Defendants”) sent the case to federal court under Class Action Fairness Act under 28 USC §1332(d) and diversity jurisdiction under 28 USC §1322(a). The Cities filed a motion to send the case back to state court, arguing under comity principles, the matter is more appropriate for Indiana courts to decide.
The Cities argued the case should move back to Marion County because the enforcement and franchise fee collection is “a commercial matter over which the Indiana legislature and Indiana Unit have traditional enjoyed wide regulatory latitude, that does not implicate any fundamental right of Defendants.” ·