As Dom reported yesterday, a federal judge smacked down the yellow pages industry like a red-headed stepchild when he upheld Seattle's phone book opt-out law.

Judge James L. Robart ruled that allowing residents to opt out of unwanted yellow pages does not violate Dex and other phone book publishers free speech rights or interstate commerce rules.

Dex just issued a statement saying that it plans to appeal the decision to the Ninth Circuit.

“We are disappointed with the District Court’s ruling yesterday. We believe the City’s ordinance impermissibly restricts protected speech based on its content, discriminates against out-of-state telephone directory publishers, and ultimately harms local businesses and consumers in the Seattle area who depend on Yellow Pages directories.”

Over 35,000 homes and businesses have opted out of 222,500 yellow pages since the program kicked off May 5. Dex began delivering in mid-June, but residents can still opt out of future deliveries.

One can only hope that the yellow pages folks come to their senses and stop appealing.