(By Balachander) Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE: CVC) has filed a lawsuit against the Communications Workers of America (CWA) District 1 and Local 1109 for making patently false and defamatory claims about the speed and quality of its Internet service in Brooklyn, New York.
The complaint asserts that since October 2012, the CWA Union has been engaged in an unlawful campaign to discredit and libel Cablevision and its business.
"The centerpiece of its campaign has been the widespread dissemination of intentionally false and malicious information about Cablevision, most particularly about Cablevision's internet speeds," said Cablevision. "The CWA has ignored repeated requests to cease and desist with these illegal actions."
Cablevision's lawsuit asserts that the CWA Union has made and continues to make false and defamatory statements to the media, government officials, directly to Cablevision subscribers, and to the public through their websites that "internet speeds for Cablevision customers in Brooklyn are approximately 25% slower than for Cablevision customers in the Bronx" and that "speeds are slower in Brooklyn than the rest of the city."
The CWA Union has made additional statements in the media and elsewhere that Cablevision is purposefully providing an inferior service to its Brooklyn customers, the company noted.
"It is outrageous that the CWA and its Local 1109, which represents a small number of employees in one Cablevision facility in Brooklyn, would resort to these actions as part of a malicious campaign to intimidate our company."
Cablevision in fact delivers services over identically provisioned, equivalent infrastructure to both Brooklyn and the Bronx, the company said.
In addition, the company said the FCC concluded in a report from July 2012 that Cablevision provides superior Internet service, delivering faster speeds than advertised across the entire day and peak weeknight hours.
CVC shares traded 0.20 percent higher at $14.92 on Wednesday.