Verizon gets hit with lawsuit over unauthorized cable in Orlando

Verizon is facing a lawsuit from a developer in Orlando, Florida, after it discovered the telco installed an unauthorized cable that not only delayed the office tower project, but also added about $500,000 in unexpected costs.

Following three years of preparation, work on Orlando’s Church Street Plaza began in October, according to an Orlando Sentinel report.

Lincoln Property Company, the project’s developers, alleged that the telco in its lawsuit filed this week that in August “an underground cable line was unexpectedly discovered” what is slated to be the site for the new office tower.

RELATED: Verizon says OTMR could apply to simple, complex pole attachments

In the lawsuit, the developer said that the cable never got proper authorization to be installed. Further, the maps that Verizon provided to Lincoln Property Company did not show the cable either.  

Making matters worse was that it took Verizon three months to get a crew out to remove the cable, according to the lawsuit, and more cable was found after Verizon said it was removed from the site.

Verizon would not provide a comment about the lawsuit and the allegations that have been brought against them.

The lawsuit said that Verizon’s unknown cable has caused property damage, fees and expenses to remove the cable as well as losses associated with the delay, attorneys' fees and administrative costs.