NO HARM, NO DAMAGES FOR CABLE CUT,RULES FLORIDA SUPREME COURT

摘要

The Florida Supreme Court ruled that telecom carriers aren't entitled to loss-of-use compensation for damage to cables except when it causes extraordinary costs or revenue loss. The state's highest court ruled on a question referred by the 11th U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta, which has been hearing a case in which MCI -- now part of Verizon -- sought damages from Mastec for severing an underground fiber cable in 2004. MCI sued for $23,000 in repair costs plus $868,000 in loss-of-use damages, based on what it would have had to pay to rent substitute cable capacity for the 97 hours the cut MCI cable was out of commission. But MCI had instantly rerouted traffic within its network, avoiding the need to rent capacity. The company appealed a federal district court decision that it wasn't entitled to loss-of-use damages. MCI said Florida law allows payment of damages for hypothetical losses even if no actual loss of revenue or actual rental charge accrued. The state high-court majority ruled that most other courts have denied loss-of-use compensation except for harm suffered. A dissenting judge complained that the majority had failed to cite any Florida cases or controlling statutes in reaching its conclusion.