T-Mobile has been using a privately-owned lot for one of its 115-foot towers, equipped with nine antennas, for 15 years…free of charge! This week, a judge ruled that landowners Pat and Gregory Richardson can move forward with a second lawsuit seeking to remove T-Mobile’s equipment, reported The Virginian-Pilot.
It all started with an electric pole built 60 years ago. The 100-foot pole was constructed for use by the Virginia Electric and Power Co. (VEPCO), now part of Dominion Energy, on what is now the Richardson’s property. In 2001, cell phone provider Voicestream GSM II, which is now part of T-Mobile, began leasing space on the pole. And in 2002, the pole was retrofit with a 115-foot cell tower and nine antennas.
The Richardsons, who have owned the property since 2004, began questioning the legality of T-Mobile’s use of the tower after they started receiving solicitations from other carriers seeking to buy out their contract with T-Mobile, which did not exist; one offer mentioned an upfront payment of $200,000 to $250,000.
Since 2014, the Richardsons have been working with Attorney Josh Baker, under a legal theory called “inverse condemnation,” alleging the couple’s property had been taken or damaged without just compensation. They’re asking for T-Mobile’s equipment to be removed from their property.
According to Baker, “The essence of this case is you cannot use things you don’t own. And you certainly can’t use them to make a profit when you don’t own them.”
Pat Richardson, a freelance paralegal, did her homework and believes that T-Mobile has fought her and her husband over several years, to avoid setting a precedent in this type of circumstance. “How many other people are they doing this to that can’t pursue it?” she asked.
According to court filings and T-Mobile official’s testimony, neither the housing authority nor the Richardsons ever made an agreement with T-Mobile. Dominion spokeswoman Bonita Billingsley Harris said the utility’s lease with T-Mobile makes the cell carrier responsible for obtaining permission from the property owner directly. “That’s standard procedure for any business that wants to share our poles, and it’s quite common,” Harris wrote in an email to The Virginian-Pilot.
T-Mobile cited that the Richardsons waited too long to file suit, since they’ve owned the property since 2004, and the three year statute of limitations began when the antennas were installed in 2002. The Richardsons withdrew the lawsuit from 2014, and are now filing again, arguing there has been additional trespassing on their property by T-Mobile since the last case ended in 2015.
July 21, 2017
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