The Advertiser, in a story titled: “Lawsuit: LUS overstated bills,” covers a lawsuit filed in the 15th judicial district by attorneys from Baton Rouge and Plaquemine. There’s no one, I trust, who believes this filing is unrelated to the current fight with BellSouth and Cox?
I think the antis are starting to look a little desperate. Maybe it is just to my eyes, but when the article claims that the class action lawsuit uses “harsh language” and talks about a “scheme” and “monopoly,” it raises flags. TV show dialog not withstanding, that is not legal language and using it suggests that the filers are playing this for TV rather than the court. When you have to rely on lawyers from Baton Rouge to carry your message that the people should be suspicious of LUS and consider themselves overcharged, you really are clutching at straws. With the previous tempest this week being a law prefiled by a Baton Rouge legislator that would penalize Lafayette if should it dare to vote against the corporations by “suspending” its contract with Cox, you have to suspect that the incumbents are calling in the capital city irregulars because they are pretty much out of effective ways to pursue their plaint.
Lawsuits have been a feature of the municipal telecom battles in other places as well and their use here has long been anticipated. It will be interesting to see just how long the details of the funding of this and the connections of the principals to BellSouth and Cox take to emerge.
This lawsuit indicates that someone is willing to bet big bucks that some of these allegations are true. For Terry’s sake I hope that none of it’s true. However, I’m not naive about any man’s ability to sin. I know how dark my own heart can be.
If any of it is true, I would think that Terry would be the most likely candidate to take the fall, regardless of personal culpability.
Hi Gumbo, long time no telecommunicate.
I don’t think there is any reason to think that someone is willing to bet big bucks that any of this is true. It only means that someone is willing to spend considerably less than a weeks worth of TV ads to use the courts to make such charges seem credible. Cheap at the price. My guess? It gets dropped on July 17th.
Until then there will be a lot of hoorah about the fishing expedition they are taking in LUS documents. Requests for more and more ridiculous documents, most of which have no clear relationship to these charges. But which do force LUS to either try and protect its proprietary competitive information or face pious press conferences where BellSouth, Cox or its agents pontificate on LUS’ “hiding” information. That’s my prediction. Let’s see how it plays out.
I was raised Presbyterian, but, frankly I am less Calvinist than you in a faith in man’s darkness. Certainly I see no sign of it in Terry. I would think you, as a friend of his, wouldn’t want to suggest such either. It is hard to see how anyone would personally benefit from the “scheme” suggested in the lawsuit.
I am pretty offended by what I think is beirng done here: using the law to play political public relations games.
I don’t know anything about the folks behind the lawsuit but it’s obvious by the timing that it has something to do with the other current LUS debate.
As a public entity I dispute that LUS has any proprietary information, especially since they have no competition for their current services. I’m disappointed that the press isn’t seeking this information. This lawsuit may be the only way the people of Lafayette get answers to their questions about LUS.
The doctrines of original sin and the depravity of man are historically found in most all orthodox Christian denominations. I believe it’s God’s grace that keeps us from being as evil as we are truly capable of being. I agree with you in having a hard time believing Terry is capable of what is alleged in this suit.