Verizon Seeks Recovery of $110,000 for Cables Damaged by Utilities Services Firm
Danella, a company that services utilities, was performing work for National Grid replacing utility poles in Syracuse in May 2021 when it removed and transferred Verizon’s wireless facilities from an old pole to a new one without the carrier’s authorization,…
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alleged Verizon’s Feb. 26 complaint in New York Supreme Court in Onondaga County, which the defendant removed Wednesday (docket 5:24-cv-00478) to U.S. District Court for Northern New York in Syracuse. For utility poles to which Verizon's facilities were attached, Danella was required to contact the carrier at the time of installation of each utility pole, “to coordinate with Verizon so that Verizon could transfer its facilities to the new pole at the time of installation,” said the complaint. Danella attached Verizon's facilities to the new pole using "J" hooks, “which was an improper method of attachment of the communication facilities to the utility pole,” it said. Over time, the "J" hook failed to support Verizon's cables, said the complaint. The "J" hook fell from the pole, and the cables became detached, it said. The cables, which were low-hanging because of their improper attachment to the pole, were severed in June 2022 when they were struck by a motor vehicle, it said. Verizon conducted repairs by splicing new cables into position, it said. “As a “direct and proximate result of the incident,” the plaintiff sustained damages of nearly $110,000 for the costs of repairing and replacing its facilities, which it now seeks to recover from Danella, the complaint said. But the damages that Verizon allegedly suffered were caused in whole or in part by Verizon’s own “culpable conduct,” said Danella’s March 22 answer to the complaint.