Multi-Channel TV Cable Co. v. Charlottesville Quality Cable Corp.
| Citation | 65 F.3d 1113 |
| Decision Date | 18 September 1995 |
| Docket Number | Nos. 94-2340,MULTI-CHANNEL,94-2383,L-R,s. 94-2340 |
| Parties | TV CABLE COMPANY, d/b/a Adelphia Cable Communications, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CHARLOTTESVILLE QUALITY CABLE CORPORATION, a Virginia corporation; Charlottesville Quality Cable Operating Company, a Virginia corporation; Management Services Corporation of Charlottesville, a Virginia corporation; Madison Limited Partnership, a Virginia limited partnership; Cabell Limited Partnership, a Virginia limited partnership; Brandon Limited Partnership, a Virginia limited partnership; Four Seasons Apartments Limited Partnership, a Virginia limited partnership; Sherwood Manor Limited Partnership, a Virginia limited partnership; George B. McCallum, III, Trustee of Oxford Hill Land Trust; David W. Kudravetz, Trustee of Oxford Hill Land Trust;Investments, a Virginia limited partnership, Defendants-Appellees.TV CABLE COMPANY, d/b/a Adelphia Cable Communications, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. CHARLOTTESVILLE QUALITY CABLE CORPORATION, a Virginia corporation; Charlottesville Quality Cable Operating Company, a Virginia corporation; Management Services Corporation of Charlottesville, a Virginia corporation; Madison Limited Partnership, a Virginia limited partnership; Cabell Limited Partnership, a Virginia limited partnership; Brandon Limited Partnership, a Virginia limited partnership; Four Seasons Apartments Limited Partnership, a Virginia limited partnership; Sherwood Manor Limited Partnership, a Virginia limited partnership; George B. McCallum, III, Trustee of Oxford Hill Land Trust; David W. Kudravetz, Trustee of Oxford Hill Land Trust;Investments, a Virginia limited partnership, Defendants-Appellants. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit |
ARGUED: John Douglas McKay, Barrick & McKay, Charlottesville, VA, for appellant. Deborah Colleen Costlow, Winston & Strawn, Washington, DC, for appellees. ON BRIEF: David C. Wagoner, Barrick & McKay, Charlottesville, VA; Randall D. Fisher, John B. Glicksman, Adelphia Cable Communications, Coudersport, PA; Philip J. Kantor, Bienstock & Clark, Miami, FL, for appellant. Alan G. Fishel, Winston & Strawn, Washington, DC, for appellees.
Before WILKINSON, HAMILTON, and MICHAEL, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by published opinion. Judge HAMILTON wrote the opinion, in which Judge WILKINSON and Judge MICHAEL joined.
This appeal raises numerous issues arising from a dispute between competing cable television operators in the City of Charlottesville, and Albemarle County, Virginia, whereby one of the cable operators disconnected the service of the other to certain multi-dwelling units (MDUs) in those areas. The disconnected cable operator brought suit against the disconnecting cable operator, the owners of the MDUs, and the company that managed all but one of the MDUs, alleging these parties had committed various torts in conjunction with the disconnection of its service. We affirm.
Appellant/Cross-Appellee Multi-Channel TV Cable Company d/b/a Adelphia Cable Communications (Adelphia) and Appellee/Cross-Appellant Charlottesville Quality Cable Corporation (CQC) are competing cable television providers in the City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County, Virginia. Adelphia has been a franchised provider of cable television in Charlottesville and Albemarle County since 1974. In 1981, Adelphia installed cable distribution systems in six MDUs 1 at its own expense. These systems, known as "home run" systems, replaced the previous "bulk service" systems in which the landlords subscribed to the cable television service in bulk, paid Adelphia one monthly fee, and provided their tenants cable television as part of their lease obligations. The installation of the home run systems entailed installing junction boxes at the end of Adelphia's signal feeder lines at the MDUs and running separate cable wires from the junction boxes to each individual unit. Installing the home run systems cost Adelphia $38,872.72.
In 1983, Adelphia installed a home run system in a seventh MDU, Four Seasons, located in Albemarle County, Virginia. The installation was identical to the installations at the other six MDUs, except that Adelphia installed the home run system at Four Seasons pursuant to a contract, executed in 1981 and updated in 1983, between Adelphia and the owner of Four Seasons, which contract provided Adelphia the exclusive right to furnish cable service to every unit at Four Seasons until September 1, 1991. Installing the home run system at Four Seasons cost Adelphia $27,981.73.
After installation of each home run system, each tenant at the MDUs could negotiate individual subscriptions with Adelphia for cable television service. Subsequently, many tenants did subscribe with Adelphia for varying packages of cable television services lasting various durations. Adelphia always serviced and maintained the home run systems at its own expense.
Between February 1991 and March 1992, CQC obtained exclusive provider agreements with the MDU owners which rendered CQC the exclusive provider of cable television service in exchange for twelve percent of any cable subscriptions CQC could obtain at the MDUs. 2 Premised on this contract authority, in August 1992, CQC and the MDU owners disconnected Adelphia's access to the MDUs by sending a group of CQC employees to physically cut Adelphia's signal carrying feeder lines which ran to the home run systems at the MDUs. Simultaneously, CQC employees connected CQC feeder lines to the home run systems that Adelphia had installed at all the MDUs. In addition, Sherwood Manor Limited Partnership, the owner of Country Green Apartments, and the Management Services Corporation of Charlottesville (MSC), the managing agent for all of the MDU owners other than Sherwood, barred Adelphia from further entry into the premises of all the MDUs.
Immediately following the disconnection of its service at the MDUs, Adelphia sought a temporary and permanent injunction in Virginia State court to restore its access to the MDUs. Subsequently nonsuiting its litigation in state court, Adelphia filed a diversity action, see 28 U.S.C.A. Sec. 1332 (West 1993), in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia against CQC, Charlottesville Quality Cable Operating Company, 3 MSC, L-R Investments, Madison Limited Partnership, Cabell Limited Partnership, Brandon Limited Partnership, Four Seasons Apartments Limited Partnership, Sherwood Manor Limited Partnership, and George McCallum and David Kudravetz as trustees of Oxford Hill Land Trust (collectively, Appellees). Adelphia's complaint sought the declaration of easement rights in its favor and alleged the following seven claims: (1) interference with the co-use of easements against CQC, MSC, Sherwood Manor, Madison, Oxford Hill, and Cabell; (2) interference with easements by estoppel against all the Appellees; (3) interference with irrevocable licenses against all the Appellees; (4) conversion of Adelphia's cable wire by all the Appellees; (5) tortious interference with existing and prospective contractual relationships against all the Appellees; (6) unjust enrichment against CQC; and (7) violation of section 55-248.13:2 of Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (VRLTA), see Va.Code Ann. Sec. 55-248.13:2 (Michie 1986) against MSC and all the MDU owners. With respect to the claims for interference with the co-use of easements, irrevocable licenses and easements by estoppel, Adelphia sought compensatory damages for the loss it allegedly sustained by the interruption of its services to its subscribers at the MDUs, an injunction against further interference with its alleged easements over and to the MDUs, and an injunction restoring its access to the MDUs. With respect to the conversion claim, Adelphia sought to recover the value of its cable wires that remained on the premises of the MDUs and were used by CQC to provide its cable services to the tenants. With respect to the tortious interference claim, Adelphia sought compensatory damages in excess of $50,000 and punitive damages of $350,000. With respect to the unjust enrichment claim, Adelphia sought the imposition of a constructive trust on the revenues earned by CQC through the use of Adelphia's equipment. With respect to the claim under the VRLTA, Adelphia sought damages as well as an injunction restoring its access to the MDUs.
Adelphia moved for summary judgment on the two interference with easements claims and the interference with irrevocable licenses claim. Adelphia moved for summary judgment on the remaining claims with respect to liability only. The Appellees moved for summary judgment in their favor on all the claims. The district court denied Adelphia's summary judgment motion in toto, but granted summary judgment in favor of the Appellees on the two interference with easements claims and the interference with irrevocable licenses claim. Additionally, the district court refused to enter an injunction under the VRLTA restoring Adelphia's right of access to the MDUs. The district court denied summary judgment in favor of the Appellees on the remaining claims. Consequently, the district court conducted a bench trial on the conversion, tortious interference, unjust enrichment, and VRLTA claims. Following this trial, the district court entered judgment in favor of Adelphia on all of those claims, except the unjust enrichment claim.
As to remedy, the district court awarded Adelphia: (1) $68,000 for the conversion of its cable wires, and (2) $219,887 for both the tortious interference with its existing and prospective contractual relationships and for violations of the VRLTA. Additionally, the district court granted an injunction that enjoined the MDU owners and MSC from continuing to provide CQC with access to the MDUs under the exclusive provider agreements and allowed the MDU owners thirty days from the...
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