Friday, July 23, 1999
Lebanon sues Time Warner
Contract never met, city says
BY DAVID ECK
Enquirer Contributor
LEBANON — The strained relationship between Lebanon and Time Warner has a new tension as this city sues the entertainment giant.
The suit, filed this week in Warren County Common Pleas Court, centers on a 1981 franchise agreement that allowed Time Warner to provide cable service in the city.
In the suit, Lebanon alleges that Time Warner:
• Did not build a two-way activated institutional network that was to connect all government and school buildings in Lebanon, as required.
• Did not offer free technical assistance to institutional users of that network, as required, because the network was never built.
• Never opened a community access production studio.
• Did not provide free cable to public and educational facilities as required. Some of the buildings, including Lebanon High School, were never hooked up to cable, and Lebanon Intermediate School was charged for its connection and received other bills.
• Has not produced, since 1988, either the required annual maps showing changes to the cable communications system, or the certified statements required if no changes are made.
“I think the biggest complaint from the legal sense involves the schools, at least having the technology to our schools,” said CouncilmanJohn McComb.
“What you're seeing is a whole generation of children who have not had that available to them. When Time Warner came to Lebanon for a (franchise) they committed to certain things.”
Time Warner officials said they could not comment on the suit, which was filed Tuesday.
“We have not seen the lawsuit yet,” Jennifer Mooney, a Time Warner spokeswoman, said Thursday. “They're suing us and we have found about it from the press.”
The city is asking for a jury trial and seeking damages in excess of $25,000.
“We're not out for monetary gain,” said Lebanon City Manager Ed Patterson. “Basically, they just haven't been in compliance for 18 years.”
Lebanon officials said council will give any money recovered to the school system for technology updates.
“What we would like to have Time Warner do is to buy computers for our children,” Mr. McComb said. “The school system would have benefited through the additional technology more than anybody.”
The city said it had waited since 1995 for Time Warner to participate in arbitration.
In February, the city launched its telecommunications network and began offering its own cable service to compete with Time Warner.
The city's cable service was originally cheaper than Time Warner's prices, but the company recently cut rates to match what the city charges.
But Lebanon officials insist Tuesday's lawsuit is not related to the ongoing battle for cable subscribers.
“Every one of these issues happened long before the city of Lebanon even thought about telecommunications,” Mr. McComb said. “It's only a contract issue.”
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