BANGOR (AP) – A federal judge in California will hear arguments in the federal government’s attempt to stop Maine regulators from forcing Verizon to say whether it provided customer call records to the government without a warrant.

There was no explanation for moving the case, but U.S. District Judge John Woodcock noted in an earlier proceeding that the California court has a process for reviewing classified information that’s expected to be part of the case.

The Maine case is one of six pending lawsuits a panel of federal judges combined with similar ones last week to be heard by U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker in San Francisco. The Maine Public Utilities Commission and the Maine Civil Liberties Union, an intervenor in the case, had opposed moving the lawsuit out of Maine.

“We are obviously disappointed that this case that relates to Maine consumers is not going to be heard in a Maine court,” PUC spokeswoman Nicole Clegg said. “But that said, we are looking forward to moving forward and are ready to have our day in court.”

The dispute began with a complaint by Verizon customers last May seeking to find out if Verizon provided information on telephone customers to the National Security Agency.

Challenging the adequacy of Verizon’s response, the PUC began contempt proceedings after Verizon failed to comply with an order requiring a company official to attest under oath to previous statements regarding the NSA’s alleged surveillance.

Federal prosecutors sued the PUC and Verizon last summer in an effort to block the disclosure of what the government claims is confidential information. Verizon, for its part, contends it has been unfairly placed in the middle of a dispute between the state and federal governments.

Similar cases were brought by the U.S. Department of Justice in Missouri, New Jersey, Connecticut and Vermont. They, along with the Maine case, have been combined in San Francisco.

The Maine Civil Liberties Union said that having the case moved to California presents logistical challenges. But the group said it’s not giving up.

“This makes our job harder, but we are as determined as ever to get to the truth,” said Zachary Heiden, staff attorney with the MCLU Foundation. “Mainers have the right to find out whether their personal privacy has been violated.”