US Magistrate Issues Order on Discovery in FTC/DirecTV Case

Both DirecTV and the FTC saw motions on discovery upheld in a legal clash over early cancellation fees charged subscribers. U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria-Elena James of San Francisco on Thursday granted a DirecTV motion to compel further responses from the FTC on research, surveys or tests the agency did on DirecTV advertising, its computation of claim for restitution, and the methods used by and results of investigations of the FTC into the rationale behind consumer complaints aimed at DirecTV ads. James also granted an FTC request for draft ads that DirecTV had objected to. And James denied without prejudice a DirecTV motion seeking discovery of communications between the FTC and all the various state attorneys general on a previous multistate agreement between the states and DirecTV, saying a pending decision by U.S. District Court Judge Haywood Gilliam of San Francisco on a motion to strike six of DirecTV's affirmative defenses could render that line of exploration moot. The FTC sued DirecTV in March, alleging the direct broadcast satellite company wasn't properly conveying to prospective customers they faced early cancellation fees if they sign up and then quit the service before two years (see 1503110042).