FTC Tries To Shore Up Stance in DirecTV Summary Judgment Fight

Saying it "sincerely regrets that it did not articulate its position ... with sufficient clarity" before and during a March 4 hearing on a DirecTV pending summary judgment motion, the FTC filed a motion for leave to file supplementary material Tuesday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. The material is a four-page brief on how the FTC sees the evidentiary burden standard applicable to that motion. The agency sued DirecTV in 2015, alleging it wasn't properly communicating the early cancellation fees subscribers face if they sign up and then quit the service before two years (see 1503110042). In its brief, the commission said the Rule 56 summary judgment standard doesn't require presenting new evidence. The FTC said DirecTV has argued the website screenshots showing disclosures hidden behind hyperlinks and tabs that the commission presented as evidence have shifted the burden to the FTC to show other evidence consumers didn't see or comprehend the disclosures, but those screenshots point to a violation of the Restore Online Shoppers Confidence Act, which requires online sellers to disclose material terms conspicuously and clearly.