New gTLD .WEB Appeal by Ruby Glen (Donuts), ICANN's Answering Brief

New gTLD .WEB Litigation Ruby Glen, LLC v. ICANN:  ICANN's Answering Brief filed Oct 30, 2017, in the Ninth Circuit. The appeal was brought by Ruby Glen LLC (Donuts affiliate) from the Final Judgment (pdf) and Order (pdf) dismissing Ruby Glen's First Amended Complaint (FAC) with prejudice, entered by the U.S. District Court at Los Angeles.

Answering Brief excerpt (page 23 of 75):

ICANN's Answering Brief's Conclusion:

ICANN's Answering Brief [pdf, 393 KB] 30 October 2017, full embed below:

See also:

• Plaintiff's Opening Appellate Brief [pdf, 370 KB] 30 August 2017

• Plaintiff's Notice of Appeal Regarding Dismissal [pdf, 35 KB] December 20, 2016

• Exhibit 1 [pdf, 70 KB] and Exhibit 2 [pdf, 43 KB]

Also note: "How long does it take from the time of the notice of appeal until oral argument? For civil, agency, or bankruptcy appeals, cases are typically scheduled for oral argument 12- 20 months from the notice of appeal date. If briefing isn’t delayed, this is typically approximately 9-12 months from completion of briefing."--The Appellate Lawyer Representatives’ Guide To Practice in the United States Court of Appeals for The Ninth Circuit (June 2017 ed.) (pdf), p. 16 (emphasis added).

Opinion and Analysis by the Editor of Domain Mondo: 
Donuts (Ruby Glen) has an extremely weak case, which it should have never filed. By appealing, Donuts is setting itself up--and all other registry operators and new gTLD applicants, now, and in the future (under the common law principle of stare decisis)--for a Ninth Circuit decision that will (but for a few narrow exceptions) "close the courthouse door" to all future wannabe gTLD litigants.

Verisign $VRSN is in no hurry to launch .WEB, as there is a pending CID from the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, and ICANN also has a pending CEP (pdf) with Donuts and Ruby Glen. In the meantime, most other new gTLDs are "dying on the vine" in the global market for domain names as "essentially, an unwanted and defective product."  The further away from the stench of the failing new gTLDs that Verisign is able to position .WEB, the more successful .WEB will be once launched. Once launched (and properly marketed), few doubt that Verisign will quickly recoup all of its upfront investment in .WEB  ($135Million+) and will thereafter enjoy years of a recurring cash flow stream well in excess of a hundred million dollars annually. As others have also noted, .WEB is, potentially, the only "must have" new gTLD for developers, investors, speculators, and trademark registrants, alike.

For further background, see on DomainMondo.com: News Review: ICANN Webinars ...  2) Other ICANN news a. New gTLD .WEB Litigation Sep 10, 2017, excerpt:

feedback & comments via twitter @DomainMondo

Follow @DomainMondo

DISCLAIMER

TechReview | What's Really Wrong With Twitter & Why Trump Lost in Court

Domain Mondo's weekly review of technology news:

Features •  What's Really Wrong With Twitter and Why Trump Lost at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals: 

•  What's Really Wrong With Twitter $TWTR (NYSE: TWTR):

$TWTR shares declined 16.62% Feb 9-10

Not Enough Americans Can Figure Out Why on Earth Use Twitter | WolfStreet.com: "Twitter now has reported net losses – as accounted for under the required Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) – every year of its existence. Pretty soon it adds up: Over the past four years, those losses amounted to $2.2 billion. One of its own key metrics, monthly average users (MAU), inched up 4% globally to 319 million. But in the US, where election and post-election brouhaha should have boosted the metric, it remained stubbornly flat sequentially, at 67 million and was up only 3% year-over-year." See also Twitter $TWTR Q4 2016 Earnings LIVE Webcast Feb 9 | DomainMondo.com.

Actually, Wolf Street is only partly right. The REAL problem with Twitter is that it is not mobile web friendly. To effectively use Twitter on a mobile device (e.g., smartphone), even just to view the streams of tweets, you have to download and install the Twitter App and then sign-in. Don't believe me? Try going to Twitter.com on your mobile web browser without signing-in to Twitter, and try viewing more than one twitter feed or stream. The problem with Twitter is that it is a media platform, and today, ANY general media platform trying to attract "users"--viewers or consumers of content--that relies solely on an app, and is effectively unusable on the mobile web, is a #FAIL [compare Twitter's mobile web experience to YouTube.com via a mobile web browser].

•  Why Trump Lost at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals:

The U.S. government didn't even try to win:

Ninth Circuit opinion, page 26

There's nothing like coming to Court unprepared. "The Government submitted no evidence to rebut the States' argument."  End of argument. For more, see UPDATE: Ninth Circuit Denies Stay of TRO, State of Washington vs Trump | DomainMondo.com.

Other Tech News:

•  But Trump is getting his share of  'wins'--“We support the Administration’s policies to level the global playing field and make U.S. manufacturing competitive worldwide through new regulatory standards and investment policies.”--Intel CEO Brian Krzanich in an email to Intel employees.--Intel and Trump tout new $7 billion investment to create 10000 jobs | TheHill.com: Intel Corp. announced a $7 billion investment Wednesday [Feb 8, 2017] that the company projects will create 10,000 new jobs. The company will use the $7 billion to complete its Fab 42 factory in Chandler, Arizona, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich said at a meeting at the White House with President Trump. Krzanich said the decision to make the announcement with the White House was borne out of Intel’s support for Trump’s economic and trade policies.

•  Net Neutrality: "Republican policymakers generally agree that the current rules' prohibition of blocking, throttling and fast [internet] lanes should stay in place, but they want to vanquish provisions that gave the FCC expanded regulatory power. How they'll go about doing that is still an open question. And Snapchat, like other companies who rely on broadband networks to reach consumers, knows the devil is in the details."--Axios.com

•  Brexit didn't hurt tech investment in the UK: "The report, which was based on data compiled by research firm PitchBook Data, showed that private equity and venture capital firms invested more than 6.7 billion pounds ($8.1 billion) in U.K.-based companies, up from 5.6 billion pounds in 2015. The closest rival [in Europe] was the Netherlands, which pulled in 1.3 billion pounds over 2016."--Bloomberg.com. See also Apple CEO Cook 'optimistic' about UK's future after Brexit: BBC | Reuters.com.

•  Chrome OS + Android Apps: Chromebook Pro: life in beta |TheVerge.com: "... engineers at Google ... have been spending the last six months or so bringing Android apps to Chrome OS. Android phones have a ton of great apps, but their web browsers pale in comparison to what you can get on a Chromebook. And vice versa ..."

10 Tech Quick Takes:

1. Japan's Sharp may break ground on $7 billion U.S. plant in first half: source | Reuters.com
2. Facebook closing 200 Oculus VR Best Buy pop-ups due to poor store performance | BusinessInsider.com
3. Amazon And Google May Face Antitrust Scrutiny Under Trump | Forbes.com
4. Xiaomi reportedly wants to build its own SoCs, break free from Qualcomm | ArsTechnica.com and Xiaomi Goes All-In On Retail to Revive China Smartphone Sales | Bloomberg.com.
5. NSA contractor indicted over mammoth theft of classified data | Reuters.com
6. Hillary Clinton server continues to haunt her | WashingtonTimes.com
7. Exposing The Vulnerability Of Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) | SeekingAlpha.com
8. For Chinese Home Buyers, Seattle Is the New Vancouver | WSJ.com: "Canadian city’s tax-policy changes appear to be driving overseas investors south."
9. The Smartest Ways to Use Your Smartphone in the Car | WSJ.com
10. The End of Employees | WSJ.com

-- John Poole, Editor, Domain Mondo  

feedback & comments via twitter @DomainMondo
Follow @DomainMondo

DISCLAIMER

UPDATE: Ninth Circuit Denies Stay of TRO, State of Washington vs Trump

State of Washington et al vs Trump et al, re: Trump's Executive Order on immigration, TRO, and appeal to  United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco for stay: 

UPDATE Feb 9, 2017: Trump Loses at Ninth Circuit: "... the emergency motion for a stay pending appeal is DENIED."  Opinion excerpt (p.26 of 29):

Opinion in full embed below:

17-35105 State of Washington v. Trump 3:00 pm PT (6:00pm ET), February 7, 2017

LIVE audio stream from Courtroom One in the James R. Browning Court of Appeals Building in San Francisco, California, scheduled for February 7, 2017, 3:00 pm PT (6:00pm ET). Because the hearing will be conducted telephonically, the stream is audio only and there will be no courtroom proceedings or associated video feed.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco will hear arguments over whether to stay the temporary restraining order (TRO), essentially restoring the President's Executive Order, from attorneys representing the U.S. Department of Justice and the States of Minnesota and Washington.

The issue: note this Ninth Circuit hearing is not about whether or not Trump's executive order is unconstitutional, but whether to maintain a temporary block (TRO) on Trump's order pending further proceedings including consideration of the constitutional question.

The temporary block went into place last week after U.S. District Judge James Robart in Seattle ruled in favor of the two states over the Justice Department. The Ninth Circuit Judges scheduled to hear the arguments: Judges William Canby Jr., a Jimmy Carter appointee, Michelle Friedland, a Barack Obama appointee, and Richard Clifton, a George W. Bush appointee.

U.S. Department of Justice's Motion for Stay:

States of Washington and Minnesota response:

U.S. Department of Justice reply:

The 9th Circuit is likely to rule later this week, and many legal scholars expect the appeal court to affirm the temporary block, possibly leading to further proceeding(s) before the U.S. Supreme Court which is explained in depth here: Donald Trump Immigration Ban: The Supreme Court and What Happens Next | Fortune.com:

"Trump has a good shot at winning the underlying legal question, but only after more court wrangles and more criticism over how he's handled the process so far ... In light of the incredible controversy it has generated, the White House may choose to modify the ban, which could make the whole issue moot before the Supreme Court has a chance to decide."

Ninth Circuit Documents 17-35105 State of Washington & State of Minnesota v. Trump. WD Wash. 2:17-cv-141:

• 02/06/2017 Order clarifying live streaming oral argument
• 02/06/2017 Order re live streaming argument
• 02/06/2017 Anti-Defamation League Motion for Extension of Time
• 02/06/2017 Anti-Defamation League Amicus Motion
• 02/06/2017 Groupon Letter Joining Technology Companies Amicus Motion and Brief
• 02/06/2017 Reply In Support of Emergency Motion for Stay
• 02/06/2017 Washington State Labor Council Amicus Motion and Brief
• 02/06/2017 U.S. Justice Foundation, Citizens United, Citizens United Foundation, English First Foundation, English First, Public Advocate of the United States, Gun Owners Foundation, Gun Owners of America, Conservative Legal Defense and Education Fund, U.S. Border Control Foundation, and Policy Analysis Center Amicus Motion and Brief
• 02/06/2017 Additional Law Professors Amicus Motion and Brief
• 02/06/2017 National Immigrant Justice Center and ASISTA Amicus Motion and Brief
• 02/06/2017 Letter by Additional Technology Companies Joining Technology Companies Amicus Motion and Brief
• 02/06/2017 American Center for Law and Justice Amicus Motion and Brief
• 02/06/2017 Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Iowa, Illinois, Maryland, Maine, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Vermont Amicus Motion and Brief
• 02/06/2017 Pivotal Software Letter Joining Technology Companies Amicus Motion and Brief
• 02/06/2017 SEIU Amicus Motion and Brief
• 02/06/2017 HIAS, Inc. Amicus Motion
• 02/06/2017 Law Professors Motion to Substitute Corrected Amicus Motion and Brief
• 02/06/2017 Anti-Defamation League Amicus Brief
• 02/06/2017 Constitutional Scholars Amicus Motion and Brief
• 02/06/2017 Order denying motion to intervene and setting oral argument
• 02/06/2017 Reply in support of emergency motion for stay
• 02/06/2017 Exhibits to response
• 02/06/2017 Exhibit A to response
• 02/06/2017 Response to emergency motion for stay
• 02/06/2017 HIAS amicus brief
• 02/06/2017 Americans United for Separation of Church and State amicus motion and brief
• 02/06/2017 ACLU amicus motion and brief
• 02/05/2017 Law Professors amicus motion and brief
• 02/05/2017 State of Hawaii emergency motion to intervene
• 02/05/2017 Korematsu Center amicus motion and brief
• 02/05/2017 Technology Companies amicus motion and brief
• 02/05/2017 Revised scheduling order
• 02/04/2017 Order denying immediate administrative stay pending full consideration of the emergency motion for stay and setting schedule
• 02/04/2017 Emergency motion for stay
• 02/04/2017 Video Video recording of hearing in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington
• 02/03/2017 Order Temporary Restraining Order

What Do Europeans Think About Muslim Immigration? | ChathamHouse.org: "... Drawing on a unique, new Chatham House survey of more than 10,000 people from 10 European states, we can throw new light on what people think about migration from mainly Muslim countries. Our results are striking and sobering. They suggest that public opposition to any further migration from predominantly Muslim states is by no means confined to Trump’s electorate in the US but is fairly widespread ..."

feedback & comments via twitter @DomainMondo
Follow @DomainMondo

DISCLAIMER

ICANN New gTLDs' Covenant Not To Sue Sinks Donuts, DCA Trust Next?

Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! Take notice all ye new gTLD applicants, the Applicant Guidebook's Covenant Not To Sue means what it says, you waive your rights to sue ICANN, so rules the Honorable Percy Anderson, U.S. District Court Judge: 

Covenant Not To Sue in New gTLDs Applicant Guidebook 

Final paragraph of Judge Anderson's Order in Ruby Glen vs ICANN (highlighting added), dismissing with prejudice Ruby Glen's First Amended Complaint (FAC):

The District Court's Order and Judgment are embedded below. Further, in a footnote, Judge Anderson stated: [1] The Court does not find persuasive the preliminary analysis concerning the enforceability of the covenant not to sue conducted by the court in DotConnectAfrica Trust v. ICANN, Case No. 2:16-cv-862 RGK (JCx) (C.D. Cal. Apr. 12, 2016).

The Ruby Glen (affiliate of Donuts Inc.) lawsuit involved new gTLD .WEB. The DotConnectAfrica Trust (DCA Trust) lawsuit involves new gTLD .AFRICA, and has been remanded by the U.S. District Court to a California state court in Los Angeles. Ruby Glen and Donuts also have a pending CEP (Cooperative Engagement Process) proceeding in connection with the .WEB last resort auction won by Nu Dot Co. For more see .AFRICA, .WEB, ICANN Litigation Update, IRP & CEP Status Report (15 Nov 2016).

Whether Ruby Glen (Donuts) will appeal is unclear, although Jon Nevett, Donuts co-founder and Executive Vice President, released a statement according to DomainNameWire.com, stating "Donuts disagrees with the Court’s decision ... Donuts will continue to utilize the tools at its disposal to address this procedural failure."

If  Ruby Glen (Donuts) does appeal, that could be doing ICANN a big favor as ICANN would like a published Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals opinion affirming Judge Percy Anderson and enforcing the Covenant Not To Sue, which could then be cited as legal precedent in any case brought by new gTLD applicants, now, or in future rounds of new gTLDs.

Order dismissing (pdf):

Final Judgment (pdf):

feedback & comments via twitter @DomainMondo
Follow @DomainMondo

DISCLAIMER

.AFRICA, .WEB, ICANN Litigation Update, IRP & CEP Status Report

ICANN active litigation status update:

1. New gTLD .AFRICA--DotConnectAfrica Trust vs. ICANN and ZACR (trial court proceeding and interlocutory appeal)--case remanded to California state court for lack of subject matter jurisdiction by U.S. District Court Judge (pdf), Notice of Remand (pdf) filed by ICANN, October 25, 2016, and ICANN's Reply Memorandum Regarding the District Court's Lack of Jurisdiction (pdf) filed November 7, 2016, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

2. New gTLD .WEB--Ruby Glen, LLC v. ICANN--legal action filed in United States District Court for the Central District of California by Ruby Glen, LLC, affiliate of Donuts. Status: Motion to Dismiss filed by ICANN on October 26, 2016, hearing scheduled for November 28, 2016.

3.  ccTLDs .IR (IRAN), .SY (Syria), .KP (North Korea)--Ben Haim v. Islamic Republic of Iran; Calderon-Cardona v. Democratic People's Republic of Korea; Rubin v. Islamic Republic of Iran; Stern v. Islamic Republic of Iran; Weinstein v. Islamic Republic of Iran; Wyatt v. Syrian Arab Republic--Consolidated legal actions filed in U.S. federal courts to judicially attach ccTLDs in satisfaction of civil judgments of Plaintiffs/Appellants--Status: On appeal, DC Circuit Court of Appeals (pdf) affirmed judgment of District Court (on alternative grounds) that ccTLDs are not subject to judicial attachment. Formal Mandate of U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. (pdf) 27 September 2016. Motions for rehearing and hearing en banc denied. Possible next step, Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court (pdf), within 90 days after denial of rehearing (September 19, 2016).

__________

ICANN Cooperative Engagement Process (CEP) And Independent Review Process (IRP) Status Report: The Cooperative Engagement Process (CEP) is a process voluntarily invoked by a complainant prior to the filing of an Independent Review Process (IRP) for the purpose of resolving or narrowing the issues that are contemplated to be brought to the IRP. (See ICANN Bylaws, Art. 4 §4.3(e).) The requesting party may invoke the CEP by providing written notice to ICANN, noting the invocation of the process, identifying the Board action(s) at issue, identifying the provisions of the ICANN Bylaws or Articles of Incorporation that are alleged to be violated, and designating a single point of contact for the resolution of the issue. More info about CEP and IRP processes here (pdf).

• Active CEP: .GCC, .SPORTS, .PERSIANGULF, .SPA, .CPA, .WEB, .MUSIC
• Active IRP: .SPORT, .ISLAM, .HALAL, .SHOP,  .AMAZON

CEP & IRP Status Update (pdf) as of 9 November 2016 embedded below (highlighting added).

References:

• Previous litigation, IRP & CEP status report on Domain Mondo, Sep 6, 2016
• https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/governance/litigation-en
• https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/accountability/irp-en
• https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/mechanisms-2014-03-20-en.

feedback & comments via twitter @DomainMondo
Follow @DomainMondo

DISCLAIMER

AFRICA: DCA Trust vs ICANN & ZACR Case Remanded To California Court

In a ruling sure to get the attention of those (governments, companies, organizations, and individuals) concerned with ICANN's jurisdiction in the United States, including the current WS2 ICANN jurisdiction working group, the federal court trial judge in the new gTLD .AFRICA case, DotConnectAfrica Trust (DCA) vs ICANN and ZA Central Registry (ZACR), has ruled: 1) ZACR is an indispensable party entitled to intervene; 2) ZACR's presence in the case as a foreign party (as is the Plaintiff), destroys the Court's federal diversity (subject matter) jurisdiction, and therefore, 3) the case must be remanded to California state court for further proceedings. Note that there is also an interlocutory appeal pending in the United States Court Of Appeals For The Ninth Circuit. The complete ruling of the U.S. District Court is embedded below, but here is the most relevant part:

"... Plaintiff DCA and Intervenor-Defendant ZACR are both foreign citizens. See Cheng v. Boeing Co., 708 F.2d 1406, 1412 (9th Cir. 1983) (holding “[d]iversity jurisdiction does not encompass foreign plaintiffs suing foreign defendants”); Faysound, Ltd. v. United Coconut Chems., Inc., 878 F.2d 290, 294–95 (9th Cir. 1989) (holding the presence of citizen defendant does not save diversity jurisdiction as to alien co-defendant in action brought by alien plaintiff because diversity must be complete); Nike, Inc. v. Comercial Iberica De Exclusivas Deportivas, S.A., 20 F.3d 987, 991 (9th Cir. 1994). As the Court has already found that ZACR is entitled to intervene as a matter of right, if ZACR is considered an indispensable party, ZACR’s presence would destroy complete diversity ....  the Court finds that ZACR is an indispensable party. As a nondiverse, indispensable party, ZACR destroys diversity jurisdiction, and remand of this action to state court is proper ..."--U.S. District Court, October 19, 2016 (emphasis added)

Ironically, this could be a BIG win for the plaintiff DCA (DotConnectAfrica Trust). Unlike U.S. federal courts where unanimous jury verdicts are required, in a California civil case, it only takes 9 of the 12 jurors to agree on a verdict (source pdf). The U.S. District Court Judge had previously assigned this case to a (10-12 days) jury trial beginning February 28, 2017. See Scheduling Order (pdf).

For more background on this case on Domain Mondo, see: New gTLD AFRICA Appeal: DCA Trust Answering Brief vs ICANN & ZACR, which has links to the other previous Domain Mondo posts.

Complete U.S. District Court ruling (pdf) embedded below (highlighting added):

feedback & comments via twitter @DomainMondo
Follow @DomainMondo

DISCLAIMER

New gTLD AFRICA Appeal: DCA Trust Answering Brief vs ICANN & ZACR

DotConnectAfrica Trust v. ICANN UPDATE September 9, 2016: ICANN’s Reply Appellate Brief [PDF, 276 KB] and ZACR's Reply Appellate Brief [PDF, 195 KB].

UPDATE September 2, 2016: ZACR's Reply in Support of Motion to Intervene [PDF, 46 KB].

UPDATE August 29, 2016: Plaintiff DotConnectAfrica Trust's Response to ZACR’s Motion to Intervene [PDF, 412 KB], embedded below (highlighting added):

UPDATE August 26, 2016: New gTLD applicant Dot Registry, LLC, has filed motion for leave to file amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief in support of DCA Trust . Motion with attached Amicus Curiae Brief embedded below (highlighting added):

--original post below--

"ICANN expressly agreed to process gTLD applications fairly and transparently. Instead, ICANN colluded with ZACR to award the .Africa domain to the AUC [African Union Commission]. The district court properly granted DCA’s motion for a PI [preliminary injunction] and properly affirmed the PI on reconsideration. DCA respectfully requests this Court affirm those decisions."--Conclusion of Answering Brief filed by DocConnectAfrica Trust (DCA Trust), infra (emphasis added)

DotConnectAfrica Trust (DCA Trust), appellee, has filed its Appellate Answering Brief together with Supplemental Excerpts of the Record (both embedded below), in response to briefs filed by appellants ICANN and ZA Central Registry (ZACR). The issues in this consolidated interlocutory appeal by ICANN and ZACR to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, involve whether the U.S. District Court properly granted DCA Trust's motion for preliminary injunction "barring ICANN from delegating the rights to .AFRICA until this case is resolved." See District Court Order (pdf).

Case Status: ICANN's and ZACR's optional reply briefs are due September 9, 2016. Meanwhile the U.S. District Court has assigned the case to a 10-12 day jury trial beginning February 28, 2017. See Scheduling Order (pdf).

For more on this case, see the previous posts (and links therein), on Domain Mondo: ICANN and Dot AFRICA: Dismissed Party ZACR Files Notice of Appeal (includes ICANN brief); and .AFRICA: DCA Trust v ICANN, ZACR Motion to Intervene & Opening Brief.

Appellee DCA Trust's Answering Brief (pdf) embed below (highlighting added):

Supplemental Excerpts of the Record (pdf) embed below (highlighting added):


Most document filings in this case are available on the ICANN website at: DotConnectAfrica Trust v. ICANN | ICANN.org. 

feedback & comments via twitter @DomainMondo
Follow @DomainMondo

DISCLAIMER

ICANN and Dot AFRICA: Dismissed Party ZACR Files Notice of Appeal

UPDATE July 18: AFRICA Appeals Consolidated--"the parties’ joint motion (Docket Entry No. 5) to consolidate Nos.16-55693 and 16-55894 and to amend the briefing schedule is granted. The opening brief in No. 16-55693 has been filed. The opening brief in No. 16-55694 is due July 22, 2016. The answering brief is due August 19, 2016. The optional reply brief is due September 9, 2016"--Order embedded below:

UPDATE June 29: ICANN filed its opening brief:

The sad saga of ICANN's bungling of the application process for new gTLD (new generic top-level domain) .AFRICA has added another chapter as dismissed party ZA Central Registry (ZACR) has filed a notice of appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, from Orders entered by the Hon. R. Gary Klausner, U.S. District Court Judge, granting DotConnectAfrica Trust's (DCA) Motion for Preliminary Injunction (enjoining ICANN from delegating .AFRICA) and denying ICANN's motion for reconsideration of the Preliminary Injunction Order. The unusual twist in this case is that the District Court had dismissed ZACR as a Defendant "thereby extinguishing ZACR's role a[s] party to the action" (see  Order of June 20 included as Exhibit 2 of the notice of appeal embedded in full below), prior to denying ICANN's reconsideration motion.

ICANN's appellant brief in its interlocutory appeal is due June 29, 2016, and the U.S. District Court has assigned the case to a 10-12 day jury trial beginning February 28, 2017.

UPDATE June 28, 2016: ICANN has amended its notice of appeal and also appeals the U.S. District Court’s Order entered on June 20, 2016 (ECF No. 113), attached to ICANN's Amended Notice of Appeal (last embed below), which denied ICANN's motion for reconsideration of the Court's Order granting the preliminary injunction.

See also on Domain Mondo:

• New gTLD AFRICA Litigation: Defendant ZACR Dismissed as a Party 16 June 2016
• News Review [May 15]: IANA, ICANN, New gTLDs .AFRICA, .AMAZON, .BLOG: ".AFRICA UPDATE: "ICANN has appealed the U.S. District Court's Order granting a Preliminary Injunction in the DCA (DotConnectAfrica) Trust vs ICANN and ZACR litigation over new gTLD.AFRICA ..."
• News Review [Apr 17]: dotAFRICA, Public Interest, Judge Holds ICANN Accountable
• Will ICANN File An Interlocutory Appeal in DCA Trust gTLD AFRICA Case? 13 April 2016
• New gTLD AFRICA: DotConnectAfrica Trust vs ICANN, End of the Line? 21 March 2016
• US Federal Court Enjoins ICANN From Delegating New gTLD dot AFRICA 5 March 2016
• DCA Trust IRP Decision: ICANN Failed the Global Internet Community 12 July 2015

ZACR's Notice of Appeal with Exhibits 1 & 2 (highlighting added):


ICANN's Amended Notice of Appeal with Exhibits (highlighting added):


feedback & comments via twitter @DomainMondo
Follow @DomainMondo

DISCLAIMER

New gTLD AFRICA Litigation: Defendant ZACR Dismissed as a Party

See UPDATE June 24: ICANN and Dot AFRICA: Dismissed Party ZACR Files Notice of Appeal.

UPDATE: On June 20, 2016, the U.S. District Court denied ICANN's motion for reconsideration of the Order enjoining ICANN from delegating new gTLD .AFRICA. The trial judge, Hon. R. Gary Klausner, has obviously carefully read and considered the IRP Final Declaration in this matter, upon which Plaintiff has relied in support of its claims. The case has already been assigned to a 10-12 day jury trial beginning February 28, 2017 (see scheduling Order further below) and ICANN is due to file its appellant's brief on June 29, 2016, in its interlocutory appeal to the Ninth Circuit of the District Court's Preliminary Injunction Order. The Court's June 20, 2016, Order is embedded below (highlighting added):

--original post below--
In the new gTLD .AFRICA litigation, Case No. 16-CV-00862 RGK (JCx), DotConnectAfrica Trust (DCA Trust) v. Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) & ZA Central Registry (ZACR), the U.S. District Court for Central District of California at Los Angeles, Honorable R. Gary Klausner, U.S. District Judge, has granted ZACR's Motion to Dismiss the Complaint (as to defendant ZACR only), concluding, along with other reasons (see embed below):

"... the Court finds Plaintiff’s first request against ZACR (i.e., that the Court declare the registry agreement null and void) unnecessary, as a favorable ruling on its claims against ICANN will result in the relief it seeks ..." (emphasis added)

The District Court has also set the case for a jury trial (estimated length: 10−12 days), starting February 28, 2017 at 09:00 AM (see scheduling conference proceedings embedded further below).

ICANN has filed an interlocutory appeal of the District Court's order granting Plaintiff DCA Trust's motion for preliminary injunction which enjoined ICANN from delegating the new gTLD .AFRICA. That appeal is pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and appellant ICANN's opening brief is due June 29, 2016; appellee DCA Trust's answering brief is due July 29, 2016; and ICANN's optional reply brief is due within 14 days after service of the answering brief. See Order (pdf).

District Court ruling (highlighting added):


Scheduling conference proceedings (highlighting added):


See also on Domain Mondo:

• News Review [May 15]: IANA, ICANN, New gTLDs .AFRICA, .AMAZON, .BLOG: ".AFRICA UPDATE: "ICANN has appealed the U.S. District Court's Order granting a Preliminary Injunction in the DCA (DotConnectAfrica) Trust vs ICANN and ZACR litigation over new gTLD.AFRICA ..."
• News Review [Apr 17]: dotAFRICA, Public Interest, Judge Holds ICANN Accountable
• Will ICANN File An Interlocutory Appeal in DCA Trust gTLD AFRICA Case? 13 April 2016
• New gTLD AFRICA: DotConnectAfrica Trust vs ICANN, End of the Line? 21 March 2016
• US Federal Court Enjoins ICANN From Delegating New gTLD dot AFRICA 5 March 2016
• DCA Trust IRP Decision: ICANN Failed the Global Internet Community 12 July 2015

feedback & comments via twitter @DomainMondo
Follow @DomainMondo

DISCLAIMER