Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District / Dec 13, 2022
Collector of Winchester, Missouri, and City of Winchester, Missouri, Respondents, vs. Charter Communications, Inc., and Charter Communications, LLC, Defendants, and Charter Fiberlink-Missouri, LLC, and Charter Advanced Services (MO), LLC, Appellants.
This class action involved Charter Fiberlink and Charter Advanced Services challenging business license taxes imposed by 124 Missouri jurisdictions on their VoIP-enabled telephone services. Charter argued federal preemption under the Telecommunications Act and Cable Act, and that its VoIP service did not fall under "telephone company" or "telephone service" definitions. Charter also contested the trial court's calculation of back taxes and its jurisdiction. The appellate court affirmed the trial court's judgment, rejecting all of Charter's arguments, finding no federal preemption, upholding the interpretation of "telephone service" to include VoIP, and confirming the trial court's authority and damages calculation.