Nashville judge bounces cable suit

A Nashville judge on Friday refused to reinstate a lawsuit by the cable industry to block EPB from offering residential video services.

“We were disappointed,” said Stacey B. Briggs, president and executive director of the Tennessee Cable Telecommunications Association. “We were looking forward to having it decided on its merits. This was a procedural dismissal.”

Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle refused to rehear the association’s lawsuit. On April 14 she dismissed the association’s original suit.

“I hope that after two rebukes by the court they will finally decide to bring this to a close and we can bring a better product to the community,” said Aldous McCrory, EPB’s vice president of legal services.

Mrs. Briggs said the cable association has 30 days from Friday to decide whether to appeal the case to the Tennessee Court of Appeals. The association’s stance is that state law prohibits EPB from using ratepayer money to fund a cable and Internet venture, she said.

“It’s impossible to imagine that they could use ratepayer money to build the network and still maintain that it’s separate revenues,” she said.

Meanwhile, Hamilton County Chancellor Frank Brown has taken a Comcast of the South lawsuit against EPB under advisement.

Comcast of the South filed a lawsuit April 22 in Chancery Court to block fiber to the home, which Comcast says violates state law.

The Tennessee Cable Act does not allow public utilities to use electric revenue to guarantee telecommunications ventures, according to the lawsuit.

Mr. McCrory said Chancellor Brown was waiting for a decision from Chancellor Lyle before he made a decision.

“We expect to get a decision soon, we hope,” Mr. McCrory said. “We’ve never been concerned on the legal posture.”

Mrs. Briggs said she didn’t expect her association would file a lawsuit in Chattanooga since Comcast already has the suit pending here.

EPB expects to start offering residential Internet, cable and telephone service around the beginning of 2009, said Katie Espeseth, EPB’s vice president of communications services.