Dish Seeks Fresh CPUC Sanctions on T-Mobile

T-Mobile asked to formally reply to Dish Network Wednesday after Dish urged additional sanctions by the California Public Utilities Commission against the carrier in their dispute over T-Mobile’s imminent CDMA shutdown (see 2109210040). The satellite company opposed the carrier’s motion to strike Dish Executive Vice President-External and Legislative Affairs Jeff Blum’s testimony at a Sept. 20 hearing (see 2109210040). “T-Mobile is only digging itself deeper into the hole of its own misconduct,” said Dish’s Tuesday response via the email service list for docket A.18-07-011. The carrier’s motion “is based on crucial factual omissions, outright untruths, and violations of contractual and ethical obligations on the part of T-Mobile” and its outside counsel David Gelfand of Cleary Gottlieb, Dish said: T-Mobile used “a document that it had agreed not to use, and is prohibited by a court order from using, in order to misrepresent its contents.” Blum’s testimony was relevant since it rebutted a statement by T-Mobile Technology President Neville Ray, said Dish. T-Mobile wants to reply to matters “including DISH’s unfounded allegation that T-Mobile improperly used DISH’s confidential business plan and its request for sanctions,” wrote outside counsel Suzanne Toller of Davis Wright in a Wednesday email on the case’s service list. T-Mobile gave Dish's attorney, Anita Taff-Rice of iCommLaw, an exhibit list with the business plan five days beforehand, Toller said. At the hearing, Gelfand “flagged the confidentiality issue” and gave Dish a chance to take a position on it before questioning Blum in a closed setting, and Dish didn't object, she said. The CPUC should deny T-Mobile's request to reply because “the request is based on a number of false assertions and misrepresentations,” and since the carrier can respond in its post-hearing brief, Taff-Rice responded Thursday in the service list. She disagreed with Toller's description of confidential document handling and said Dish had objected to Gelfand's questioning. Post-hearing briefs are due Friday.