Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Verizon Communications Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission, et al.
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, No. 24-1733 · judgment September 10, 2025
Before the decision, about 3.8× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for counsel who has won certiorari before, a petition filed soon after the judgment below, and a Second Circuit decision below.
Question presented
Consolidated with 25-406. Under the Communications Act of 1934, the Federal Communications Commission may assess monetary "forfeiture penalties" for violations of the Act, including the requirement that telecommunications carriers take reasonable measures to protect certain customer data. 47 U.S.C. §§ 222, 503, 504. The FCC may impose such forfeiture penalties in administrative proceedings. Id. § 503(b)(4). If a carrier wants to guarantee judicial review, it must pay the penalty and then seek review in a court of appeals, which reviews the agency's order on the administrative record under the deferential standards of the Administrative Procedure Act. 47 U.S.C. § 402(a); 5 U.S.C. § 706(2). If the carrier wants a jury trial, by contrast, it must defy the FCC's order and refuse to pay, after which the Department of Justice may, but is not required to, file a lawsuit in district court to collect the unpaid forfeiture. 47 U.S.C. § 504(a). While waiting for that DOJ lawsuit that might never come, the carrier suffers serious practical and reputational harms from the final FCC order. The question presented is: Whether the Communications Act violates the Seventh Amendment and Article III by authorizing the FCC to order the payment of monetary penalties for failing to reasonably safeguard customer data, without guaranteeing the defendant carrier a right to a jury trial.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Jeffrey B. Wall
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
For respondent
D. John Sauer
Solicitor General
Argument & decision
Argued April 21, 2026 — Jeffrey B. Wall · Vivek Suri. Audio and transcript
Decided June 4, 2026. Opinion by Roberts, C.J..
Proceedings
- Aug 17 2026Rehearing DENIED.
- Aug 17 2026Judgment Issued.
- Jul 23 2026DISTRIBUTED.
- Jul 06 2026Judgment Issued.
- Jul 06 2026Judgment Withdrawn. The judgment issued on July 6, 2026 issued in error. See Rule 45.
- Jun 29 2026Petition for Rehearing filed.
- Jun 04 2026Adjudged to be AFFIRMED. No. 25-406, judgment REVERSED and case REMANDED. Roberts, C. J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Alito, Sotomayor, Kagan, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett, and Jackson, JJ., joined. Thomas, J., filed a dissenting opinion. VIDED.
- Apr 21 2026Argued. For AT&T, Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc.: Jeffrey B. Wall, Washington, D. C. For FCC, et al.: Vivek Suri, Assistant to the Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. VIDED.
- Mar 30 2026CIRCULATED
- Mar 17 2026Record received electronically from the Federal Communications Commission and available with the Clerk.
- Feb 23 2026Record received electronically from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and available with the Clerk.
- Feb 18 2026Record requested from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
- Feb 11 2026SET FOR ARGUMENT on Tuesday, April 21, 2026. VIDED.
- Jan 09 2026Petition GRANTED. The petition for a writ of certiorari in No. 25-406 is granted. The cases are consolidated, and a total of one hour is allotted for oral argument. VIDED.
- Jan 09 2026Because the Court has consolidated these cases for briefing and oral argument, future filings and activity in the cases will now be reflected on the docket of No. 25-406. Subsequent filings in these cases must therefore be submitted through the electronic filing system in No. 25-406. Each document submitted in connection with one or more of these cases must include on its cover the case number and caption for each case in which the filing is intended to be submitted. Where a filing is submitted in fewer than all of the cases, the docket entry will reflect the case number(s) in which the filing is submitted; a document filed in all of the consolidated cases will be noted as “VIDED.”
- Dec 16 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/9/2026.
- Dec 12 2025Brief amicus curiae of Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America filed. (Distributed)
- Dec 12 2025Brief amicus curiae of CTIA - The Wireless Association filed. (Distributed)
- Dec 11 2025Waiver of the 14-day waiting period for the distribution of the petition pursuant to Rule 15.5 filed by petitioners.
- Dec 09 2025Brief of respondents Federal Communications Commission, et al. filed.
- Nov 06 2025Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due December 12, 2025)