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                         Before the
              Federal Communications Commission
                   Washington, D.C. 20554


In the Matter of                  )
                                 )
Core Communications, Inc.,        )
                                 )
      Complainant,                )
                                 )
                v.                )   File No. EB-01-MD-007
                                 )
Verizon  Maryland Inc.,           )
                                 )
       Defendant.                 )
                                 )



                            ORDER 


Adopted:  September 8, 2004             Released:  September 
14, 2004

By the Commission:

        1.          In this Order, we deny the parties' 
   joint motion to vacate1 the Commission's Liability 
   Order,2 which granted in part a formal complaint filed by 
   Core Communications, Inc. (``Core'') against Verizon 
   Maryland Inc. (``Verizon'') pursuant to section 208 of 
   the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (``Act'').3  
   The parties have asked that we vacate our decision 
   because they have now settled their dispute, but the mere 
   fact of settlement does not provide grounds for vacatur.  
   Moreover, we find no basis to justify abandoning the 
   precedent established in the Liability Order.  Therefore, 
   we deny the Vacatur Motion for the same reasons we made 
   clear very recently in Starpower Communications  v. 
   Verizon South,4 a case on all fours with this one.  As we 
   said in Starpower:  Although we strongly encourage the 
   parties to settle their disputes, ``parties should 
   endeavor to settle such disputes before the Commission 
   spends time and resources to decide them, not after.''5  

        2.          ACCORDINGLY, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to 
   sections 4(i), 4(j), and 208, of the Communications Act 
   of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. §§ 154(i), 154(j), 208, 
   that the Vacatur Motion IS DENIED. 

                                        
                              FEDERAL         COMMUNICATIONS 
COMMISSION



                                                Marlene   H. 
Dortch
                                     Secretary

_________________________

1            Joint  Motion for Vacatur, File  No. EB-01-MD-
007 (filed June 2, 2004) (``Vacatur Motion''). 

2            Core Communications,  Inc. v. Verizon Maryland 
Inc.,   Memorandum   Opinion   and  Order,   18   FCC   Rcd          
7962 (2003) (``Liability Order'').

3             47  U.S.C. §  208.  See Liability   Order, 18 
FCC Rcd at 7962, ¶ 1.

4    Starpower Communications,  LLC v. Verizon  South Inc., 
Memorandum Opinion and Order, FCC No. 04-      102, 2004 WL 
840858 (rel. Apr. 16, 2004).

5    Starpower Communications v. Verizon at ¶ 7.