Va. Beach drops phone-lines suit against Verizon

VIRGINIA BEACH

A lawsuit was filed. Names were called. But in the end, it proved to be a case of faulty communication.

The city withdrew its lawsuit against Verizon Communications Inc. on Tuesday after discovering that the lines it was suing over didn't exist.

The city had sued Verizon over phone lines that had to be buried underground in the upcoming phase of the Laskin Road project. Verizon wanted to be paid for the work.

But it turns out there were no lines there.

"We're glad that the city dropped the suit, and we will continue to work with the city," Harry Mitchell, a Verizon spokesman, said.

After a meeting with Verizon this week, city officials realized that the company didn't have any lines that conflict with road improvements scheduled to start in mid-September, said Chris Boynton, a Beach city attorney.

"There was some confusion in the field," Boynton said.

City officials also couldn't reach a national Verizon executive to clear up the issue, although they tried several times in recent months, Boynton said.

While the conflict at the heart of the city's suit didn't exist, the lawsuit was fruitful, he said.

"Unfortunately, it took a filing of a suit to get everybody in the room," Boynton said.

The city took Verizon to court earlier this month in an attempt to force the company to pay for moving its wires into an underground duct system that the Beach had built. City officials said Cox Communications, Dominion Virginia Power and Cavalier Telephone had all agreed to move their lines. But Verizon asked for a $123,000 reimbursement from the city to move its wires.

Verizon's request was related to wiring in that area that will be affected by later phases of the road project, Mitchell said.

Until Verizon officials read through the lawsuit, they didn't realize which poles the city was concerned about, Mitchell said.

The company still believes that putting wires around Laskin Road underground is a beautification effort and that the city of Virginia Beach should have to pay for it, he said.

Verizon will bear the cost of moving wires if they conflict with roads and existing infrastructure, Mitchell said.

The city's argument has always been that Verizon's franchise agreement doesn't specify when Verizon has to pay for moving wires, just that the company is supposed to pay.

The agreement is similar to the one the city has with most utilities. However, Dominion's agreement with Virginia Beach requires the city to pay a portion of the cost of putting lines underground. Dominion's engineers are drawing up plans for the move and cost estimates, city officials said.

The city and Verizon need to resolve who will pay for moving the lines in the later part of the road project, Boynton said.

Both sides could still end up back in court, he said.