Administrative law judge limits depositions, allows amended CenturyLink filing and sets hearing schedule in Larimer 911 dispute

An administrative law judge at the Public Utilities Commission on April 28, 2025 issued several procedural rulings in Larimer Emergency Telephone Authority v. Quest Corporation doing business as CenturyLink QC, limiting the scope of discovery, permitting a confidential amended answer from CenturyLink and setting dates for testimony and a hearing. The case concerns whether CenturyLink met obligations to provide geographic and physical diversity for 911 circuits serving Estes Park and other Larimer County public-safety answering points (PSAPs).

The judge denied a broad protective order but imposed a numerical limit on depositions, saying, "So the protective order is gonna be denied," and setting a cap of nine depositions per side. The cap is intended to keep discovery focused; the judge said she would entertain motions for additional depositions if a party shows good cause.

Those decisions followed competing arguments from the parties over discovery breadth. Tracy Oldenmeyer, counsel for the complainant Larimer Emergency Telephone Authority, told the judge that certain monitoring and audit records "will be essential to the party's proper understanding…